THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

Martha  Green 


NEW  YORK 
J.B.FORD&CO. 

1869. 


AGRICULTURE 
Add'1 

GIFT 


I 
THE 


AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME: 

OR, 

PRINCIPLES   OF  DOMESTIC  SCIENCE; 


A  GUIDE    TO    THE    FORMATION  AND   MAINTENANCE    OF   ECONOMICAL 
HEALTHFUL,  BEAUTIFUL,  AND   CHRISTIAN   HOMES. 


BY 

CATHARINE  E.   BEECHER 

AND 

HARRIET   BEECHER  STOWE. 


NEW-YORK : 
J.   B.   FORD  AND   COMPANY. 

BOSTON :  H.  A.  BROWN  &  CO.        PHILADELPHIA  :  CHAS.  S.  GREENE  &  CO. 

CHICAGO :  J  A.  STODDARD  &  CO.        CINCINNATI :  HENRY  HOWE. 

SAN  FRANCISCO :  FRANCIS  DEWING  &  CO. 

1869. 


AGWCULTUSE 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 
J.     B.     FORD    &    CO., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS:  WELCH,  BIGELOW,  &  Co., 
CAMBRIDGE. 


AGRIC. 
LIBRARY 


TO 

TIE  WOIEN  OF  AMEEICA, 

IN   WHOSE   HANDS   REST    THE    REAL   DESTINIES   OF   THE   REPUBLIC,    AS 
MOULDED    BY    THE    EARLY    TRAINING    AND    PRESERVED 

AMID   THE   MATURER   INFLUENCES    OF   HOME,  • 

THIS    VOLUME     IS 

AFFECTIONATELY   INSCRIBED. 


363 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

I'HB  chief  cause  of  woman's  disabilities  and  sufferings,  that  women  are 
not  trained,  as  men  are,  for  their  peculiar  duties  —  Aim  of  this  volume 
to  elevate  the  honor  and  remuneration  of  domestic  employment  —  Wo- 
man's duties,  and  her  utter  lack  of  training  for  them  —  Qualifications  of 
the  writers  of  this  volume  to  teach  the  matters  proposed  —  Experience 
and  study  of  woman's  work  —  Conviction  of  the  dignity  and  importance 
of  it  —  The  great  social  and  moral  power  in  her  keeping  —  The  princi- 
ples and  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  the  true  basis  of  woman's  rights  and 
duties.—  Pages  13-16. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY. 

Object  of  the  Family  State  —  Duty  of  the  elder  and  stronger  to  raise  the 
younger,  weaker,  and  more  ignorant  to  an  equality  of  advantages  —  Dis- 
cipline of  the  family  —  The  example  of  Christ  one  of  self-sacrifice  as 
man's  elder  brother  —  His  assumption  of  a  low  estate  —  His  manual  labor 

—  His  trade  —  Woman  the  chief  minister  of  the  family  estate—  Man  the 
out-door  laborer  and  provider  —  Labor  and  self-denial  in  the  mutual  re- 
lations of  home-life,   honorable,  healthful,  economical,  enjoyable,  and 
Christian.—  Pages  17-22. 

n. 
A  CHRISTIAN  HOUSE. 

True  wisdom  in  building  a  home  —  Necessity  of  economizing  time,  labor, 
and  expense,  by  the  close  packing  of  conveniences  —  Plan  of  a  model  cot- 
tage —  Proportions  —  Piazzas  —  Entry  —  Stairs  and  landings  —  Large  room 

—  Movable  Screen  —  Convenient  bedsteads  —  A  good  mattress  —  A  cheap 
and  convenient  ottoman  —  Kitchen  and  stove-room  —  The  stove-room  and 
its  arrangements  —  Second  or  attic  story  —  Closets,  corner  dressing-tables, 
windows,  balconies,  water  and  earth'dosets,  shoe-bag,  piece-bag  —  Base- 
ment, closets,  refrigerator,  washtubs,    etc.  —  Laundry  —  General  wood- 
work —  Conservatories  —  Average  estimate  of  cost.  —  Pages  23-43. 


ii  CONTENTS. 

m. 
A  HEALTHFUL  HOME. 

Household  murder — Poisoning  and  starvation  the  inevitable  result  of  bad 
air  in  public  halls  and  private  homes — Good  air  as  needful  as  good 
food— Structure  and  operations  of  the  lungs  and  their  capillaries  and 
air-cells — How  people  in  a  confined  room  will  deprive  the  air  of  oxygen 
and  overload  it  with  refuse  carbonic  acid — Starvation  of  the  living 
body  deprived  of  oxygen — The  skin  and  its  twenty-eight  miles  of  per- 
spiratory tubes — Reciprocal  action  of  plants  and  animals — Historical 
examples  of  foul-air  poisoning — Outward  effects  of  habitual  breathing 
of  bad  air — Quotations  from  scientific  authorities. — Pages  43-58. 

IV. 

SCIENTIFIC  DOMESTIC  VENTILATION. 

An  open  fireplace  secures  due  ventilation — Evils  of  substituting  air-tight 
stoves  and  furnace  heating — Tendency  of  .warm  air  to  rise  and  of  cool 
air  to  sink — Ventilation  of  mines — Ignorance  of  architects — Poor  venti- 
lation in  most  houses — Mode  of  ventilating  laboratories — Creation  of  a 
current  of  warm  air  in  a  flue  open  at  top  and  bottom  of  the  room — Flue 
to  be  built  into  chimney  :  method  of  utilizing  it. — Pages  59-65. 

v. 
STOVES,  FURNACES,  AND  CHIMNEYS. 

The  general  properties  of  heat,  conduction,  convection,  radiation,  reflec- 
tion— Cooking  done  by  radiation  the  simplest  but  most  wasteful  mode : 
by  convection  (as  in  stoves  and  furnaces)  the  cheapest — The  range — The 
model  cooking-stove—interior  arrangements  and  principles — Contrivan- 
ces for  economizing  heat,  labor,  time,  fuel,  trouble,  and  expense — Its 
durability,  simplicity,  etc. — Chimneys :  why  they  smoke  and  how  to 
cure  them — Furnaces :  the  dryness  of  their  heat — Necessity  of  moisture 
in  warm  air — How  to  obtain  and  regulate  it. — Pages  66-83. 

VI. 

HOME  DECORATION. 

Significance  of  beauty  in  making  home  attractive  and  useful  in  education 
— Exemplification  of  economical  and  tasteful  furniture — The  carpet, 
lounge,  lambrequins,  curtains,  ottomans,  easy-chair,  centre-table — 
Money  left  for  pictures — Chromos — Pretty  frames — Engravings — Statu- 
ettes— Educatory  influence  of  works  of  art — Natural  adornments — Mate- 
rials in  the  woods  and  fields — Parlor-gardens — Hanging  baskets — Fern- 
shields — Ivy,  its  beauty  and  tractableness — Window,  with  flowers,  vines, 


CONTENTS.  ill 

and  pretty  plants — Rustic  stand  for  flowers— Ward's  case — How  to  make 
it  economically — Bowls  and  vases  of  rustic  work  for  growing  plants — 
Ferns,  how  and  when  to  gather  them — General  remarks. — Pages 
84^103. 

vn. 
THE  CARE  OF  HEALTH. 

Importance  of  some  knowledge  of  the  body  and  its  needs — Fearful  re- 
sponsibility of  entering  upon  domestic  duties  in  ignorance — The  funda- 
mental vital  principle — Cell-life — Wonders  of  the  microscope  —  Cell- 
multiplication — Constant  interplay  of  decay  and  growth  necessary  to 
life — The  red  and  white  cells  of  the  blood — Secreting  and  converting 
power — The  nervous  system — The  brain  and  the  nerves — Structural 
arrangement  and  functions — The  ganglionic  system — The  nervous  fluid 
— Necessity  of  properly  apportioned  exercise  to  nerves  of  sensation  and 
of  motion — Evils  of  excessive  or  insufficient  exercise — Equal  develop- 
ment of  the  whole. — Pages  104-112. 


vm. 
DOMESTIC  EXERCISE. 

Connection  of  muscles  and  nerves — Microscopic  cellular  muscular  fibre — 
Its  mode  of  action — Dependence  on  the  nerves  of  voluntary  and  involun- 
tary motion — How  exercise  of  muscles  quickens  circulation  of  the  blood 
which  maintains  all  the  processes  of  life — Dependence  of  equilibrium 
upon  proper  muscular  activity — Importance  of  securing  exercise  that 
will  interest  the  mind.— Pages  113-118. 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD. 

Apportionment  of  elements  in  food  :  carbon,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  calci- 
um, iron,  silicon,  etc. — Large  proportion  of  water  in  the  human  body — 
Dr.  Holmes  on  the  interchange  of  death  and  life — Constituent  parts  of  a 
kernel  of  wheat — Comparison  of  different  kinds  of  food — General  direc- 
tions for  diet — Hunger  the  proper  guide  and  guard  of  appetite— Evils 
of  over-eating — Structure  and  operations  of  the  stomach — Times  and 
quantity  for  eating — Stimulating  and  nourishing  food — Americans  eat 
too  much  meat — Wholesome  effects  of  Lenten  fasting-  Matter  and 
manner  of  eating — Causes  of  debilitation  from  misuse  of  food. — Pages 
119-137. 


IV  CONTENTS. 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS. 

Stimulating  drinks  not  necessary — Their  immediate  evil  effects  upon 
the  human  body  and  tendency  to  grow  into  habitual  desires — The  ar- 
guments for  and  against  stimulus — Microscopic  revelations  of  the  ef- 
fects of  alcohol  on  the  cellular  tissue  of  the  brain — Opinions  of  high 
scientific  authorities  against  its  use — No  need  of  resorting  to  stimu- 
lants either  for  refreshment,  nourishment,  or  pleasure — Tea  and  coffee 
an  extensive  cause  of  much  nervous  debility  and  suffering — Tend  to 
wasteful  use  in  the  kitchen — Are  seldom  agreeable  at  first  to  children 
— Are  dangerous  to  sensitive,  nervous  organizations,  and  should  be  at 
least  regulated — Hot  drinks  unwholesome,  debilitating,  and  destructive 
to  teeth,  throat,  and  stomach — Warm  drinks  agreeable  and  not  un- 
healthful — Cold  drinks  not  to  be  too  freely  used  during  meals— Drink- 
ing while  eating  always  injurious  to  digestion. — Pages  138-149. 


XI. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Health  and  comfort  depend  on  cleanliness — Scientific  treatment  of  the 
skin,  the  most  complicated  organ  of  the  body — Structure  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  skin,  its  layers,  cells,  nerves,  capillaries,  absorbents,  oil- 
tubes,  perspiration-tubes,  etc. — The  mucous  membrane — Phlegm- — The 
secreting  organs — The  liver,  kidney,  pancreas,  salivary  and  lachrymal, 
glands — Sympathetic  connection  of  all  the  bodily  organs — Intimate  con- 
nection of  the  skin  with  all  the  other  organs — Proper  mode  of  treating 
the  skin — Experiment  showing  happy  effects  of  good  treatment. — 
Pages  150-157. 

xn. 
CLOTHING. 

Fashion  attacks  the  very  foundation  of  the  body,  the  bones — Bones  com 
posed  of  animal  and  mineral  elements — General  construction  and  ar- 
rangement— Health  of  bones  dependent  on  nourishment  and  exercise  of 
body — Spine — Distortions  produced  by  tight  dressing — Pressure  of  in- 
terior organs  upon  each  other  and  upon  the  bones — Displacement  of 
stomach,  diaphragm,  heart,  intestines,  and  pelvic  or  lower  organs — Wo- 
men liable  to  peculiar  distresses — A  well-fitted  jacket  to  replace  stiff 
corsets,  supporting  the  bust  above  and  the  under  skirts  below — Dress 
ing  of  young  children — Safe  for  a  healthy  child  to  wear  as  little  cloth- 
ing as  will  make  it  thoroughly  comfortable — Nature  the  guide — The 
very  young  and  the  very  old  need  the  most  clothing. — Pages  158-166. 


CONTENTS.  V 

xm. 
GOOD  COOKING. 

Bad  cooking  prevalent  in  America — Abundance  of  excellent  material 
— General  management  of  food  here  very  wasteful  and  extravagant 
—Five  great  departments  of  Cookery — Bread — What  it  should  be, 
how  to  spoil  and  how  to  make  it — Different  modes  of  aeration — Baking 
— Evils  of  hot  bread. — Butter — Contrast  between  the  butter  of  America 
and  of  European  countries — How  to  make  good  butter. — Meat — General- 
ly used  too  newly  killed — Lack  of  nicety  in  butcher's  work — Economy 
of  French  butchery,  carving,  and  trimming — Modes  of  cooking  meats — 
The  frying-pan — True  way  of  using  it — The  French  art  of  making 
delicious  soups  and  stews — Vegetables — Their  number  and  variety  in 
America — The  potato — How  to  cook  it,  a  simple  yet  difficult  operation 
— Roasted,  boiled,  fried. — Tea — Warm  table  drinks  generally — Coffee 
— Tea— Chocolate. — Confectionery — Ornamental  cookery — Pastry,  ices, 
iellies.— Pages  167-190. 

xrv. 

EARLY  RISING. 

A  virtue  peculiarly  American  and  democratic— In  aristocratic  countries, 
labor  considered  degrading — The  hours  of  sunlight  generally  devoted  to 
labor  by  the  working  classes  and  to  sleep  by  the  indolent  and  wealthy — 
Sunlight  necessary  to  health  and  growth  whether  of  vegetables  or  ani- 
mals— Particularly  needful  for  the  sick — Substitution  of  artificial 
light  and  heat,  by  night,  a  great  waste  of  money — Eight  hours' 
sleep  enough — Excessive  sleep  debilitating — Early  rising  necessary  to  a 
well-regulated  family,  to  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done,  to  the  commu- 
nity, to  schools,  and  to  all  classes  in  American  society. — Pages  191-196. 

xv. 
DOMESTIC  MANNERS. 

Good  manners  the  expression  of  benevolence  in  personal  intercourse — 
Serious  defects  in  manners  of  the  Americans — Causes  of  abrupt  manners 
to  be  found  in  American  life — Want  of  clear  discrimination  between 
men— Necessity  for  distinctions  of  superiority:  and  subordination — Im- 
portance that  young  mothers  should  seriously  endeavor  to  remedy  this 
defect,  while  educating  their  children — Democratic  principle  of  equal 
rights  to  be  applied,  not  to  our  own  interests  but  to  those  of  others — 
The  same  courtesy  to  be  extended  to  all  classes — Necessary  distinctions 
arising  from  mutual  relations  to  be  observed — The  strong  to  defer  to 
the  weak— Precedence  yielded  by  men  to  women  in  America — Good, 
manners  must  be  cultivated  in  early  life — Mutual  relations  of  husband 
and  wife — Parents  and  children — The  rearing  of  children  to  courtesy — 
De  Tocqueville  on  American  manners. — Pages  197-211. 


n  CONTENTS. 

XVI. 

GOOD   TEMPER  IN  THE  HOUSEKEEPER. 

Easier  for  a  household  under  the  guidance  of  an  equable  temper  in  the 
mistress — Dissatisfied  looks  and  sharp  tones  destroy  the  comfort  of 
system,  neatness,  and  economy — Considerations  to  aid  the  housekeeper 
— Importance  and  dignity  of  her  duties — Difficulties  to  be  overcome- 
Good  policy  to  calculate  beforehand  upon  the  derangement  of  well- 
arranged  plans — Object  of  housekeeping,  the  comfort  and  well-being 
of  the  family — The  end  should  not  be  sacrificed  to  secure  the  means — 
Possible  to  refrain  from  angry  tones — Mild  speech  most  effective — Ex- 
emplification— Allowances  to  be  made  for  servants  and  children — Power 
of  religion  to  impart  dignity  and  importance  to  the  ordinary  and  petty 
details  of  domestic  life.— Pages  212-219. 

XVII. 

HABITS  OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER. 

Relative  importance  and  difficulty  of  the  duties  a  woman  is  called  to  per- 
form— Her  duties  not  trivial — A  habit  of  system  and  order  necessary — 
Right  apportionment  of  time — General  principles — Christianity  to  be  the 
foundation — Intellectual  and  social  interests  to  be  preferred  to  gratifica- 
tion of  taste  or  appetite — Neglect  of  health  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God — 
Regular  season  of  rest  appointed  by  the  Creator — Divisions  of  time — 
Systematic  arrangement  of  house  articles  and  other  conveniences — 
Regular  employment  for  each  member  of  a  family — Children — Family 
work — Forming  habits  of  system— Early  rising  a  very  great  aid — 
Due  apportionment  of  time  to  the  several  duties. — Pages  220-232. 

XVIII. 

GIVING  IN  CHARITY. 

No  point  of  duty  more  difficult  to  fix  by  rule  than  charity — First  consi- 
deration— Object  for  which  we  are  placed  in  this  world — Self-denying 
Benevolence. — Second  consideration — Natural  principles  not  to  be  ex- 
terminated, but  regulated  and  controlled. — Third  consideration — Super- 
fluities sometimes  proper,  and  sometimes  not. — Fourth  consideration 
— No  rule  of  duty  right  for  one  and  not  for  all — The  opposite  of  this 
principle  tested — Some  use  of  superfluities  necessary — Plan  for  keeping 
an  account  of  necessities  and  superfluities — Untoward  results  of  our 
actions  do  not  always  prove  that  we  deserve  blame — General  princi- 
ples to  guide  in  deciding  upon  objects  of  charity — Who  are  our  neigh- 
bors—The most  in  need  to  be  first  relieved — Not  much  need  of  charity 
for  physical  wants  in  this  country — Associated  charities — Indiscrimi- 
nate charity — Impropriety  of  judging  the  charities  of  others— Pages 
233-246. 


CONTENTS.  Til 

XIX. 

ECONOMY  OF  TIME  AND   EXPENSES. 

Economy,  value,  and  right  apportionment  of  time  —  Laws  appointed 
by  God  for  the  Jews — Christianity  removes  the  restrictions  laid  on  the 
Jews,  but  demands  all  our  time  to  be  devoted  to  our  own  best  interests 
and  the  good  of  our  fellow-men — Enjoyment  connected  with  every 
duty — Various  modes  of  economizing  time — System  and  order — Unit- 
ing several  objects  in  one  employment — Odd  intervals  of  time — Aiding 
others  in  economizing  time — Economy  in  expenses— Contradictory  no- 
tions—General principles  in  which  all  agree — Knowledge  of  income 
and  expenses— Evils  of  want  of  system  and  forethought — Young  ladies 
should  early  learn  to  be  systematic  and  economical. — Pages  247-254 


xx. 

HEALTH  OF  MIND. 

Intimate  connection  between  the  body  and  mind— Brain  excited  by  im; 
proper  stimulants  taken  into  the  stomach — Mental  faculties  then  affect- 
ed— Causes  of  mental  disease — Want  of  oxygenized  blood — Fresh  air 
absolutely  necessary— Excessive  exercise  of  the  intellect  or  feelings — 
Such  attention  to  religion  as  prevents  the  performance  of  other  duties, 
wrong — Unusual  precocity  in  children  usually  the  result  of  a  diseased 
brain — Idiocy  often  the  result,  or  the  precocious  child  sinks  below  the 
average  of  mankind — This  evil  yet  prevalent  in  colleges  and  other  semi- 
naries— A  medical  man  necessary  in  every  seminary — Some  pupils 
always  needing  restraint  in  regard  to  study — A  third  cause  of  mental 
disease,  the  want  of  appropriate  exercise  of  the  various  faculties  of  the 
mind — Extract  from  Dr.  Combe — Beneficial  results  of  active  intellectual 
employments — Indications  of  a  diseased  mind. — Pages  255-262. 


XXI. 

THE  CARE  OF  INFANTS. 

Herbert  Spencer  on  the  treatment  of  offspring — Absurdity  of  undertak- 
ing to  rear  children  without  any  knowledge  of  how  to  do  it — Foolish 
management  of  parents  generally  the  cause  of  evils  ascribed  to  Provi- 
dence— Errors  of  management  during  the  first  two  years— Food  of  child 
and  of  mother — Warning  as  to  use  of  too  much  medicine— Fresh  air- 
Care  of  the  skin — Dress — Sleepr-Bathing — Change  of  air — Habits — 
Dangers  of  the  teething  period — Constipation — Diarrhea — Teething- 
How  to  relieve  its  dangers — Feverishness — Use  of  water. — Pages  263- 
274. 


Vili  CONTENTS. 

xxn. 
THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG  CHILDREN. 

Physical  education  of  children — Animal  diet  to  be  avoided  for  the  very 
young — Result  of  treatment  at  Albany  Orphan  Asylum — Good  ventila- 
tion of  nurseries  and  schools — Moral  training  to  consist  in  forming 
Tidbits  of  submission,  self-denial,  and  benevolence — General  suggestions 
— Extremes  of  sternness  and  laxity  to  be  avoided — Appreciation  of 
childish  desires  and  feelings — Sympathy— Partaking  in  games  and 
employments — Inculcation  of  principles  preferable  to  multiplication  of 
commands — Rewards  rather  than  penalties — Severe  tones  of  voice — 
Children  to  be  kept  happy— Sensitive  children — Self-denial — Deceit 
and  honesty — Immodesty  and  delicacy — Dreadful  penalties  consequent 
upon  youthful  impurities — Religious  training. — Pages  275-286. 


xxiii. 
DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES. 

Children  need  more  amusement  than  older  persons — Its  object,  to  afford  rest 
and  recreation  to  the  mind  and  body — Example  of  Christ — No  amuse- 
ments to  be  introduced  that  will  tempt  the  weak  or  over-excite  the 
young — Puritan  customs — Work  followed  by  play — Dramatic  exercises, 
dancing,  and  festivity  wholesomely  enjoyed — The  nine  o'clock  bell — The 
drama  and  the  dance — Card-playing — Novel-reading — Taste  for  solid 
reading — Cultivation  of  fruits  and  flowers — Music — Collecting  of  shells, 
plants,  and  minerals — Games — Exercise  of  mechanical  skill  for  boys — 
Sewing,  cutting,  and  fitting — General  suggestions — Social  and  domestic 
duties— Family  attachments— Hospitality.— Pages  287-302. 


XXIV. 

CARE  OF  THE  AGED. 

Preservation  of  the  aged,  designed  to  give  opportunity  for  self-denial  and 
loving  oare — Patience,  sympathy,  and  labor  for  them  to  be  regarded  as 
privileges  in  a  family — The  young  should  respect  and  minister  unto 
the  aged — Treating  them  as  valued  members  of  the  family — Engaging 
them  in  domestic  games  and  sports — Reading  aloud — Courteous  atten- 
tion to  their  opinions — Assistance  in  retarding  decay  of  faculties  by 
helping  them  to  exercise — Keeping  up  interest  of  the  infirm  in  domestic 
affairs — Great  care  to  preserve  animal  heat — Ingratitude  to  the  aged 
its  baseness— Chinese  regard  for  old  age.— Pages  303-306. 


CONTENTS.  U 

XXV. 

THE  CARE  OF  SERVANTS. 

Origin  of  the  Yankee  term  "help"— Days  of  good  health  and  intelli- 
gent  house-keeping — Growth  of  wealth  tends  to  multiply  hired  service 
— American  young  women  should  be  trained  in  housekeeping  for  the 
guidance  of  ignorant  and  shiftless  servants — Difficulty  of  teaching  ser- 
vants— Reaction  of  society  in  favor  of  women's  intellectuality,  in 
danger  of  causing  a  new  reaction — American  girls  should  do  more 
work — Social  estimate  of  domestic  service — Dearth  of  intelligent  do- 
mestic help — Proper  mode  of  treating  servants — General  rules  and 
special  suggestions — Hints  from  experience — Woman's  first  "  right," 
liberty  to  do  what  she  can — Domestic  duties  not  to  be  neglected  for 
operations  in  other  spheres — Servants  to  be  treated  with  respect — Er- 
rors of  heartless  and  of  too  indulgent  employers — Mistresses  of  Ameri- 
can families  necessarily  missionaries  and  instructors. — Pages  307-334 

XXVI. 

CARE  OF   THE  SICK. 

PrDminence  given  to  care  and  cure  of  the  sick  by  our  Saviour — Every 
woman  should  know  what  to  do  in  the  case  of  illness — Simple  remedies 
best — Fasting  and  perspiration  —  Evils  of  constipation — Modes  of  re- 
lieving it — Remedies  for  colds — Unwise  to  tempt  the  appetite  of  the  sick 
— Suggestion  for  the  sick-room — Ventilation — Needful  articles — The 
room,  bed,  and  person  of  the  patient  to  be  kept  neat — Care  to  preserve  ani- 
mal warmth — The  sick,  the  delicate,  the  aged — Food  always  to  be  care- 
fully prepared  and  neatly  served — Little  modes  of  refreshment — Im- 
plicit obedience  to  the  physician — Care  in  purchasing  medicines — Ex- 
hibition of  cheerfulness,  gentleness,  and  sympathy — Knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  mind — Lack  of  competent  nurses — Failings  of  nurses  — 
Sensitiveness  of  the  sick — "  Sisters  of  Charity,"  the  reason  why  they 
are  such  excellent  nurses — Illness  in  the  family  a  providential  oppor- 
tunity of  training  children  to  love  and  usefulness. — Pages  335-347. 

xxvn. 
ACCIDENTS  AND  ANTIDOTES. 

Mode  of  treating  cuts,  wounds,  severed  arteries — Bad  bruises  to  be  bathed 
in  hot  water — Sprains  treated  with  hot  fomentation  and  rest — Burns 
cured  by  creosote,  wood-soot,  or  flour — Drowning ;  most  approved  mode 
of  treatment — Poisons  and  their  antidotes— Soda,  saleratus,  potash, 
sulphuric  or  oxalic  acid,  lime  or  baryta,  iodine  or  iodide  of  potassium, 
prussic  acid,  antimony,  arsenic,  lead,  nitrate  of  silver,  phosphorus,  alco- 
hol, tobacco,  opium,  strychnia — Bleeding  at  the  lungs,  stomach,  throat, 
nose— Accidents  from  lightning  —  Stupefaction,  from  coal-gas  or  foul 
air — Fire — Fainting— Coolness  and  presence  of  mind. — Pages  348-353 


I  CONTENTS. 

xxviii. 
SEWING,  CUTTING,  AND   MENDING. 

Different  kinds  of  Stitch— Overstitch— Hems— Tucks— Fells— Gores- 
Buttonholes — Whipping — Gathering — Darning —  Basting  —  Sewing  — 
Work-baskets— To  make  a  frock— Patterns— Fitting— Lining— Thin 
Silks — Figured  and  plain  silks — Plaids — Stripes — Linen  and  Cotton — 
How  to  buy — Shirts — Chemises — Night-gowns— Under-skirts — Mend- 
ing— Silk  dresses — Broadcloth — Hose — Shoes,  etc. — Bedding — Mattres- 
ses— Sheeting— Bed-linen.— Pages  353-359. 

XXIX. 

FIRES  AND  LIGHTS. 

Woodfires — Shallow  fireplaces — Utensils — The  best  wood  for  fires — How 
to  measure  a  load — Splitting  and  piling — Ashes — Cleaning  up — Stoves 
and  grates — Ventilation — Moisture — Stove-pipe  thimbles — Anthracite 
coal — Bituminous  coal — Care  to  be  used  in  erecting  stoves  and  pipes — 
Lights — Poor  economy  to  use  bad  light — Gas — Oil — Kerosene — Points 
to  be  considered :  Steadiness,  Color,  Heat — Argand  burners — Dangers  of 
kerosene — Tests  of  its  safety  and  light-giving  qualities — Care  of  lamps 
— Utensils  needed — Shades — Night-lamps — How  to  make  candles — 
Moulded— Dipped— Rush-lights.— Pages  360-366. 

XXX. 

THE  CARE  OF  ROOMS. 

Parlors — Cleansing — Furniture — Pictures — Hearths  and  jambs — Stains  in 
marble — Carpets — Chambers  and  bedrooms— Ventilation — How  to  make 
a  bed  properly — Servants  should  have  single  beds  and  comfortable 
rooms — Kitchens — Light — Air — Cleanliness — How  to  make  a  cheap  oil- 
cloth— The  sink — Washing  dishes — Kitchen  furniture — Crockery — 
Ironware — Tinware — Basketware — Other  articles — Closets  —  Cellars — 
Dryness  and  cleanliness  imperative  necessities — Store-rooms — Modes  of 
destroying  insects  and  vermin. — Pages  367-378. 

XXXI. 

THE  CARE  OF   YARDS  AND  GARDENS. 

Preparation  of  soil  for  pot-plants — For  hot-beds — For  planting  flower 
Feeds — For  garden  seeds — Transplanting — To  re-pot  house  plants — The 
laying  out  of  yards  and  gardens — Transplanting  trees — The  care  of 
house  plants.— Pages  379-383. 


CONTENTS.  xj 

XXXII. 

THE  PROPAGATION  OF  PLANTS. 

Propagation  of  bulbous  roots — Propagation  of  plants  by  shoots — By  lay- 
ers—Budding and  grafting— The  outer  and  inner  bark — Detailed  de- 
scription of  operations — Seed-fruit — Stone-fruit — Rose  bushes — In- 
grafting—  Stock  grafting — Pruning — Perpendicular  shoots  to  be  taken 
out,  horizontal  or  curved  shoots  retained — All  fruit-buds  coming  out 
after  midsummer  to  be  rubbed  off — Suckers — Pruning  to  be  done  after 
sap  is  in  circulation — Thinning — Leaves  to  be  removed  when  they 
shade  fruit  near  maturity— Fruit  to  be  removed  when  too  abundant  for 
good  quality— How  to  judge. — Pages  384-388. 

XXXIII. 

THE   CULTIVATION  OF  FRUIT. 

A  pleasant,  easy,  and  profitable  occupation — Soil  for  a  nursery — Plant- 
ing of  seeds — Transplanting — Pruning — Filberts — Figs — Currants — 
Gooseberries — Raspberries — Strawberries — Grapes — Modes  of  pre- 
serving fruit  trees — The  yellows — Moths— Caterpillars— Brulure— 
Curculio—  Canker-worm.— Pages  389-392. 

XXXIV. 

THE   CARE  OF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

Interesting  association  of  animals  with  man,  from  childhood  to  age- 
Domestic  animals  apt  to  catch  the  spirit  of  their  masters— Important 
necessities — Good  feeding — Shelter — Cleanliness — Destruction  of  par- 
asitic vermin— Salt  and  water — Light— Exercise— Rule  for  breeding 
—  Care  of  Horses  :  feeding,  grooming,  special  treatment — Cows  :  stab- 
ling, feed,  calving,  milking,  tethering — Swine:  naturally  cleanly, 
breeding,  fresh  water,  charcoal,  feeding — Sheep:  winter  treatment — 
Diet — Sorting — Use  of  sheep  in  clearing  land — Pasture — Hedges  and 
fences — Poultry — Turkeys — Geese — Ducks — Fowls — Dairy  work  gen- 
erally— Bees — Care  of  domestic  animals,  occupation  for  women. — 
Pages  393-402. 

xxxv. 

EARTH-CLOSETS. 

Deodorization  and  preservation  of  excrementitious  matter— The  earth- 
closet — Waring's  pamphlet — The  agricultural  argument — Necessity  of 
returning  to  the  soil  the  elements  taken  from  it — Earth-closet  based  on 
power  of  clay  and  inorganic  matter  to  absorb  and  retain  odors  and  fer- 
tilizing matter — Its  construction — Mode  of  use — The  ordinary  privy — 
The  commode  or  portable  house-privy — Especial  directions  :  things  to 
be  observed — Repeated  use  of  earth — Other  advantages — Sick-rooms 
—House-labor —  Cleanliness — Economy. — Pages  403-418. 


»1  CONTENTS. 

XXXVI. 

WARMING  AND   VENTILATION. 

Open  fireplace  nearest  to  natural  mode  by  which  earth  is  warmed  and 
ventilated— Origin  of  diseases — Necessity  of  pure  air  to  life— Statistics 
— General  principles  of  ventilation — Mode  of  Lewis  Leeds — Ventilation 
of  buildings  planned  in  this  work — The  pure-air  conductor— The  foul- 
air  exhausting-flue — Stoves — Detailed  arrangements — Warming — Econ- 
omy of  time,  labor,  and  expense  in  the  cottage  plan — After  all  schemes, 
the  open  fireplace  the  best. — Pages  419-432. 

XXXVII. 

CARE   OF  THE   HOMELESS,  THE  HELPLESS,   AND  fHE 

VICIOUS. 

Eecommendations  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  State  Charities — Pauper 
and  criminal  classes  should  be  scattered  in  Christian  homes  instead  of 
gathered  into  large  institutions — Facts  recently  published  concerning 
the  poor  of  New-York — Sufferings  of  the  poor,  deterioration  of  the  rich — 
Christian  principles  of  benevolence — Plan  for  a  Christian  city  house — 
Suggestions  to  wealthy  and  unoccupied  women — Roman  Catholic  works 
A— Protestant  duties — The  highest  mission  of  woman. — Pages  433-452. 

XXXVIII. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Spirit  of  Christian  Missions — Present  organizations  under  church  direc- 
tion too  mechanical — Christian  family  influence  the  true  instrument  of 
Gospel  propagation — Practical  suggestions  for  gathering  a  Christian 
family  in  neglected  neighborhoods — Plan  of  church,  school-house,  and 
family-dwelling  in  one  building — Mode  of  use  for  various  purposes — 
Nucleus  and  gathering  of  a  family — Christian  work  for  Christian 
women — Children — Orphans — Servants — Neglected  ones — Household 
training— Roman  Catholic  Nuns— The  South— The  West— The  ne- 
glected interior  of  older  States — Power  of  such  examples — Rapid 
spread  of  their  influence — Anticipation  of  the  glorious  consummation  to 
be  hoped  for — Prophecy  in  the  Scriptures — Cowper's  noble  vision  of  the 
millennial  glory.— Pages  453-461. 

APPEAL  TO  AMERICAN  WOMEN.— Pages  463-470. 
GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.— Pages  473-489 
ANALYTICAL  INDEX.— Pages  491-500. 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  authors  of  this  volume,  while  they  sympathize  with 
every  honest  effort  to  relieve  the  disabilities  and  sufferings 
of  their  sex,  are  confident  that  the  chief  cause  of  these 
evils  is  the  fact  that  the  honor  and  duties  of  the  family 
state  are  not  duly  appreciated,  that  women  are  -not  trained 
for  these  duties  as  men  are  trained  for  their  trades  and 
professions,  and  that,  as  the  consequence,  family  labor  is 
poorly  done,  poorly  paid,  and  regarded  as  menial  and  dis- 
graceful. 

To  be  the  nurse  of  young  children,  a  cook,  or  a  house- 
maid, is  regarded  as  the  lowest  and  last  resort  of  poverty, 
and  one  which  no  woman  of  culture  and  position  can  as- 
sume without  loss  of  caste  and  respectability. 

It  is  the  ami  of  this  volume  to  elevate  both  the  honor 
and  the  remuneration  of  all  the  employments  that  sustain 
the  many  difficult  and  sacred  duties  of  the  family  state, 
and  thus  to  render  each  department  of  woman's  true  pro- 
fession as  much  desired  and  respected  as  are  the  most 
honored  professions  of  men. 

When  the  other  sex  are  to  be  instructed  in  law,  medi- 
cine, or  divinity,  they  are  favored  with  numerous  institu- 
tions richly  endowed,  with  teachers  of  the  highest  talents 
and  acquirements,  with  extensive  libraries,  and  abundant 
and  costly  apparatus.  With  such  advantages  they  devote 


14  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN9 S  SOME. 

nearly  ten  of  the  best  years  of  life  to  preparing  themselves 
for  their  profession ;  and  to  secure  the  public  from  unquali- 
fied members  of  these  professions,  none  can  enter  them 
until  examined  by  a  competent  body,  who  certify  to  their 
due  preparation  for  their  duties. 

Woman's  profession  embraces  the  care  and  nursing  of 
the  body  in  the  critical  periods  of  infancy  and  sickness, 
the  training  of  the  human  mind  in  the  most  impressible 
period  of  childhood,  the  instruction  and  control  of  servants, 
and  most  of  the  government  and  economies  of  the  family 
state.  These  duties  of  woman  are  as  sacred  and  important 
as  any  ordained  to  man ;  and  yet  no  such  advantages  for 
preparation  have  been  accorded  to  her,  nor  is  there  any 
qualified  body  to  certify  the  public  that  a  woman  is  duly 
prepared  to  give  proper  instruction  in  her  profession. 

This  unfortunate  want,  and  also  the  questions  frequently 
asked  concerning  the  domestic  qualifications  of  both  the 
authors  of  this  work,  who  have  formerly  written  upon  such 
topics,  make  it  needful  to  give  some  account  of  the  advan- 
tages they  have  enjoyed  in  preparation  for  the  important 
office  assumed  as  teachers  of  woman's  domestic  duties. 

The  sister  whose  name  is  subscribed  is  the  eldest  of  nine 
children  by  her  own  mother,  and  of  four  by  her  step-mo- 
ther ;  and  having  a  natural  love  for  children,  she  found  it 
a  pleasure  as  well  as  a  duty  to  aid  in  the  care  of  infancy 
and  childhood.  At  sixteen,  she  was  deprived  of  a  mother, 
who  was  remarkable  not  only  for  intelligence  and  culture, 
but  for  a  natural  taste  and  skill  in  domestic  handicraft. 
Her  place  was  awhile  filled  by  an  aunt  remarkable  for  her 
habits  of  neatness  and  order  >  and  especially  for  her  econo- 
my. She  was,  in  the  course  of  time,  replaced  by  a  step- 
mother, who  had  been  accustomed  to  a  superior  style  of 
housekeeping,  and  was  an  expert  in  all  departments  of  do« 
mestic  administration. 

Under  these  successive  housekeepers,  the  writer  learned 
not  only  to  perform  in  the  most  approved  manner  all  the 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

manual  employments  of  domestic  life,  but  to  honor  and 
enjoy  these  duties. 

At  twenty-three,  she  commenced  the  institution  which 
ever  since  has  nourished  as  "  The  Hartford  Female  Semi- 
nary," where,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  the  sister  now  united 
with  her  in  the  authorship  of  this  work  became  her  pupil, 
and,  after  a  few  years,  her  associate.  The  removal  of  the 
family  to  the  West,  and  failure  of  health,  ended  a  connec- 
tion with  the  Hartford  Seminary,  and  originated  a  similar 
one  in  Cincinnati,  of  which  the  younger  authoress  of  this 
work  was  associate  principal  till  her  marriage. 

At  this  time,  the  work  on  Domestic  Economy,  of  which 
this  volume  may  be  called  an  enlarged  edition,  although 
a  great  portion  of  it  is  entirely  new,  embodying  the  latest 
results  of  science,  was  prepared  by  the  writer  as  a  part  of 
the  Massachusetts  School  Lilrary,  and  has  since  been  ex- 
tensively introduced  as  a  text-book  into  public  schools  arid 
higher  female  seminaries.  It  was  followed  by  its  sequel, 
The  Domestic  Receipt- Book,  widely  circulated  by  the 
Harpers  in  every  State  of  the  Union. 

These  two  works  have  been  entirely  remodeled,  former 
topics  rewritten,  and  many  new  ones  introduced,  so  as 
to  include  all  that  is  properly  embraced  in  a  complete 
Encyclopedia  of  Domestic  Economy. 

In  addition  to  the  opportunities  mentioned,  the  elder 
sister,  for  many  years,  has  been  studying  the  causes  and 
the  remedies  for  the  decay  of  constitution  and  loss  of 
health  so  increasingly  prevalent  among  American  women, 
aiming  to  promote  the  establishment  of  endowed  institu- 
tions, in  which  women  shall  be  properly  trained  for  their 
profession,  as  both  housekeepers  and  health-keepers.  What 
advantages  have  thus  been,  received  and  the  results  thus 
obtained  will  appear  in  succeeding  pages. 

During  the  upward  progress  of  the  age,  arvd  the  advance 
of  a  more  enlightened  Christianity,  the  writers  of  this 
volume  have  gained  more  elevated  views  of  the  true  mis- 


16  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN* 'S  HOME. 

sion  of  woman — of  the  dignity  and  importance  of  her  dis- 
tinctive duties,  and  of  the  true  happiness  which  will  be 
the  reward  of  a  right  appreciation  of  this  mission,  and  a 
proper  performance  of  these  duties. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  an  increasing  agitation  of  the 
public  mind,  evolving  many  theories  and  some  crude  specu- 
lations as  to  woman's  rights  and  duties.  That  there  is  a 
great  social  and  moral  power  in  her  keeping,  which  is  now 
seeking  expression  by  organization,  is  manifest,  and  that 
resulting  plans  and  efforts  will  involve  some  mistakes, 
some  collisions,  and  some  failures,  all  must  expect. 

But  to  intelligent,  reflecting,  and  benevolent  women — 
whose  faith  rests  on  the  character  and  teachings  of  Jesus 
Christ — there  are  great  principles  revealed  by  Him,  which 
in  the  end  will  secure  the  grand  result  which  He  taught 
and  suffered  to  achieve.  It  is  hoped  that  in  the  following 
pages  these  principles  will  be  so  exhibited  and  illustrated 

JT      O  JET  * 

as  to  aid  in  securing  those  rights  and  advantages  which 
Christ's  religion  aims  to  provide  for  all,  and  especially  for 
the  most  weak  and  defenseless  of  His  children. 

CATHAHINE  E.  BEECHES. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    FAMILY. 

IT  is  the  aim  of  this  volume  to  elevate  both  the  honor 
and  the  remuneration  of  all  employments  that  sustain 
the  many  difficult  and  varied  duties  of  the  family  state, 
and  thus  to  render  each  department  of  woman's  profession 
as  much  desired  and  respected  as  are  the  most  honored 

'ofessions  of  men. 


18  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

What,  then,  is  the  end  designed  by  the  family  state 
which  Jesus  Christ  came  into  this  world  to  secure  ? 

It  is  to  provide  for  the  training  of  our  race  to  the  highest 
possible  intelligence,  virtue,  and  happiness,  by  means  of 
the  self-sacrificing  labors  of  the  wise  and  good,  and  this 
with  chief  reference  to  a  future  immortal  existence. 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  family  is  self-sacrificing 
labor  of  the  stronger  and  wiser  members  to  raise  the 
weaker  and  -more  ignorant  to  equal  advantages.  The 
father  undergoes  toil  and  self-denial  to  provide  a  home, 
and  then  the  mother  becomes  a  self-sacrificing  laborer  to 
train  its  inmates.  The  useless,  troublesome  infant  is 
served  in  the  humblest  offices ;  while  both  parents  iiD^e  in 
training  it  to  an  equality  with  themselves  In  every  advan- 
tage. Soon  the  older  children  become  helpers  to  raise  the 
younger  to  a  level  with  their  own.  When  any  are  sick, 
those  who  are  well  become  self-sacrificing  ministers. 
When  the  parents  are  old  and  useless,  the  children  be- 
come their  self-sacrificing  servants. 

Thus  the  discipline  of  the  family  state  is  one  of  daily 
self-devotion  of  the  stronger  and  wiser  to  elevate  and  sup- 
port the  weaker  members.  Nothing  could  be  more  con- 
trary to  its  first  principles  than  for  the  older  and  more 
capable  children  to  combine  to  secure  to  themselves  the 
highest  advantages,  enforcing  the  drudgeries  on  the  young- 
er, at  the  sacrifice  of  their  equal  culture. 

Jesus  Christ  came  to  teach  the  fatherhood  of  God  and 
consequent  brotherhood  of  man.  He  came  as  the  "  first- 
born Son  "  of 'God  and  the  Elder  Brother  of  man,  to  teach 
by  example  the  self-sacrifice  by  which,  the  great  family  of 
man  is  to  be  raised  to  equality  of  advantages  as  children 
of  God.  For  this  end,  he  "  humbled  himself "  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  place.  He  chose  for  his  birthplace  the 
most  despised  village ;  for  his  parents  the  lowest  in  rank  ; 
for  his  trade,  to  labor  with  his  hands  as  a  carpenter,  being 
"  subject  to  his  parents  "  thirty  years.  And,  what  is  very 


THE   CHRISTIAN  FAMILY.  19 

significant,  his  trade  was  that  which  prepares  the  family 
home,  as  if  he  would  teach  that  the  great  duty  of  man  is 
labor — to  provide  for  and  train  weak  and  ignorant  crea- 
tures. Jesus  Christ  worked  with  his  hands  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  preached  less  than  three.  And  he  taught  that 
his  kingdom  is  exactly  opposite  to  that  of  the  world, 
where  all  are  striving  for  the  highest  positions.  "  Whoso 
will  be  great  shall  be  your  minister,  and  whoso  will  be 
chiefest  shall  be  servant  of  all." 

The  family  state  then,  is  the  aptest  earthly  illustration 
of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  and  in  it  woman  is  its  chief 
minister.  Her  great  mission  is  self-denial,  in  training  its 
members  to  self-sacrificing  labors  for  the  ignorant  and 
weak :  if  not  her  own  children,  then  the  neglected  chil- 
dren of  her  Father  in  heaven.  She  is  to  rear  all  under  her 
care  to  lay  up  treasures,  not  on  earth,  but  in  heaven.  All 
the  pleasures  of  this  life  end  here ;  but  those  who  train 
immortal  minds  are  to  reap  the  fruit  of  their  labor  through 
eternal  ages. 

To  man  is  appointed  the  out-door  labor — to  till  the  earth, 
dig  the  mines,  toil  in  the  foundries,  traverse  the  ocean, 
transport  merchandise,  labor  in  manufactories,  construct 
houses,  conduct  civil,  municipal,  and  state  affairs,  and  all 
the  heavy  work,  which,  most  of  the  day,  excludes  him  from 
the  comforts  of  a  home.  But  the  great  stimulus  to  all 
these  toils,  implanted  in  the  heart  of  every  true  man,  is 
the  desire  for  a  home  of  his  own,  and  the  hopes  of  pater- 
nity. Every  man  who  truly  lives  for  immortality  responds 
to  the  beatitude,  "  Children  are  a  heritage  from  the  Lord : 
blessed  is  the  man  that  hath  his  quiver  full  of  them!" 
The  more  a  father  and  mother  live  under  the  influence  of 
that  "  immortality  which  Christ  hath  brought  to  light," 
the  more  is  the  blessedness  of  rearing  a  family  understood 
and  appreciated.  Every  child  trained  aright  is  to  dwell 
forever  in  exalted  bliss  with  those  that  gave  it  life  and 
trained  it  for  heaven. 


20  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

The  blessed  privileges  of  the  family  state  are  not  con- 
fined to  those  who  rear  children  of  their  own.  Any  wo- 
man who  can  earn  a  livelihood,  as  every  woman  should  be 
trained  to  do,  can  take  a  properly  qualified  female  asso- 
ciate, and  institute  a  family  of  her  own,  receiving  to  its 
heavenly  influences  the  orphan,  the  sick,  the  homeless, 
and  the  sinful,  and  by  motherly  devotion  train  them  to 
follow  the  self-denying  example  of  Christ,  in  educating 
his  earthly  children  for  true  happiness  in  this  life  and  for 
his  eternal  home. 

And  such  is  the  blessedness  of  aiding  to  sustain  a  truly 
Christian  home,  that  no  one  comes  so  near  the  pattern  of 
the  All-perfect  One  as  those  who  might  hold  what  men  call 
a  higher  place,  and  yet  humble  themselves  to  the  lowest  in 
order  to  aid  in  training  the  young,  "  not  as  men-pleasers, 
but  as  servants  to  Christ,  with  good-will  doing  service  as 
to  the  Lord,  and  not  to  men."  Such  are  preparing  for 
high  places  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  "  Whosoever  will 
be  chiefest  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant." 

It  is  often  the  case  that  the  true  humility  of  Christ  is 
not  understood.  It  was  not  in  having  a  low  opinion  of  his 
own  character  and  claims,  but  it  was  in  taking  a  low  place 
in  order  to  raise  others  to  a  higher.  The  worldling  seeks 
to  raise  himself  and  family  to  an  equality  with  others,  or, 
if  possible,  a  superiority  to  them.  The  true  follower  of 
Christ  comes  down  in  order  to  elevate  others. 

The  maxims  and  institutions  of  this  world  have  ever 
been  antagonistic  to  the  teachings  and  example  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Men  toil  for  wealth,  honor,  and  power,  not  as 
means  for  raising  others  to  an  equality  with  themselves, 
but  mainly  for  earthly,  selfish  advantages.  Although  the 
experience  of  this  life  shows  that  children  brought  up  to 
labor  have  the  fairest  chance  for  a  virtuous  and  prosperous 
life,  and  for  hope  of  future  eternal  blessedness,  yet  it  is  the 
aim  of  most  parents  who  can  do  so,  to  lay  up  wealth  that 
their  children  need  not  labor  with  the  hands  as  Christ  did. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY.  21 

And  although  exhorted  by  our  Lord  not  to  lay  up  treasure 
on  earth,  but  rather  the  imperishable  riches  which  are 
gained  in  toiling  to  train  the  ignorant  and  reform  the  sin- 
ful, as  yet  a  large  portion  of  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ,  like  his  first  disciples,  are  "slow  of  heart  to  be- 
lieve." 

JSTot  less  have  the  sacred  ministries  of  the  family  state 
been  undervalued  and  warred  upon  in  other  directions; 
for  example,  the  Romish  Church  has  made  celibacy  a 
prime  virtue,  and  given  its  highest  honors  to  those  who 
forsake  the  family  state  as  ordained  by  God!  Thus  came 
great  communities  of  monks  and  nuns,  shut  out  from  the 
love  and  labors  of  a  Christian  home ;  thus,  also,  came  the 
monkish  systems  of  education,  collecting  the  young  in 
great  establishments  away  from  the  watch  and  care  of 
parents,  and  the  healthful  and  self-sacrificing  labors  of  a 
home.  Thus  both  religion  and  education  have  conspired 
to  degrade  the  family  state. 

Still  more  have  civil  laws  and  social  customs  been  op- 
posed to  the  principles  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  has  ever  been 
assumed  that  the  learned,  the  rich,  and  the  powerful  are 
not  to  labor  with  the  hands,'  as  Christ  did,  and  as  Paul 
did  when  he  would  "  not  eat  any  man's  bread  for  naught, 
but  wrought  with  labor,  not  because  we  have  not  power  " 
[to  live  without  hand-work,]  "  but  to  make  ourselves  an 
example."  (2  Thess.  3.) 

Instead  of  this,  manual  labor  has  been  made  dishonora- 
ble and  unrefined  by  being  forced  on  the  ignorant  and 
poor.  Especially  has  the  most  important  of  all  hand-la- 
bor, that  which  sustains  the  family,  been  thus  disgraced ; 
so  that  to  nurse  young  children,  and  provide  the  food  of  a 
family  by  labor,  is  deemed  the  lowest  of  all  positions  in 
honor  and  profit,  and  the  last  resort  of  poverty.  And  so 
our  Lord,  who  himself  took  the  form  of  a  servant,  teaches, 
"  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven !" — that  kingdom  in  which  all  are  toiling 


22  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

to  raise  the  weak,  ignorant,  and  sinful  to  such  equality 
with  themselves  as  the  children  of  a  loving  family  enjoy. 
One  mode  in  which  riches  have  led'  to  antagonism  with 
the  true  end  of  the  family  state  is  in  the  style  of  living, 
by  which  the  hand-labor,  most  important  to  health,  com- 
fort, and  beauty,  is  confined  to  the  most  ignorant  and  neg- 
lected members  of  society,  without  any  effort  being  made 
to  raise  them  to  equal  advantages  with  the  wise  and  cul 
tivated. 

And,  the  higher  civilization  has  advanced,  the  mor- 
have  children  been  trained  to  feel  that  to  labor,  as  did 
Christ  and  Paul,  is  disgraceful,  and  to  be  made  the  por- 
tion of  a  degraded  class.  Children  of  the  rich  grow  up 
with  the  feeling  that  servants  are  to  work  for  them,  and 
they  themselves  are  not  to  work.  To  the  minds  of  most 
children  and  servants,  "to  be  a  lady,"  is  almost  synony- 
mous with  "to  be  waited  on,  and  do  no  work."  It  is  the 
earnest  desire  of  the  authors  of  this  volume  to  make  plain 
the  falsity  of  this  growing  popular  feeling,  and  to  show 
how  much  happier  and  more  efficient  family  life  will 
become  when  it  is  strengthened,  sustained,  and  adorned 
by  family  work. 


II. 


A  CHEISTIAN   HOUSE. 

IN  the  Divine  Word  it  is  written,  "  The  wise  woman  build- 
eth  her  house."  To  be  "wise,"  is  "to  choose  the  best 
means  for  accomplishing  the  best  end."  It  has  been  shown 
that  the  best  end  for  a  woman  to  seek  is  the  training  of 
God's  children  for  their  eternal  horne,  by  guiding  them  to 
intelligence,  virtue,  and  true  happiness.  When,  therefore, 
the  wise  woman  seeks  a  home  in  which  to  exercise  this 


24 

ministry,  she  will  aim  to  secure  a  house  so  planned  that  it 
will  provide  in  the  best  manner  for  health,  industry,  and 
economy,  those  cardinal  requisites  of  domestic  enjoyment 
and  success.  To  aid  in  this,  is  the  object  of  the  following 
drawings  and  descriptions,  which  will  illustrate  a  style  of 
living  more  conformed  to  the  great  design  for  which  the 
family  is  instituted  than  that  which  ordinarily  prevails 
among  those  classes  which  take  the  lead  in  forming  the 
customs  of  society.  The  aim  will  be  to  exhibit  modes  of 
economizing  labor,  time,  and  expenses,  so  as  to  secure 
health,  thrift,  and  domestic  happiness  to  persons  of  limited 
means,  in  a  measure  rarely  attained  even  by  those  who 
possess  wealth. 

At  the  head  of  this  chapter  is  a  sketch  of  what  may  be 
properly  called  a  Christian  house ;  that  is,  a  house  con- 
trived for  the  express  purpose  of  enabling  every  member 
of  a  family  to  labor  with  the  hands  for  the  common  good, 
and  by  modes  at  once  healthful,  economical,  and  tasteful 

Of  course,  much  of  the  instruction  conveyed  in  the  fol 
lowing  pages  is  chiefly  applicable  to  the  wants  and  habits 
of  those  living  either  in  the  country  or  in  such  suburban 
vicinities  as  give  space  of  ground  for  healthful  outdoor 
occupation  in  the  family  service,  although  the  general 
principles  of  house-building  and  house-keeping  are  of  ne- 
cessity universal  in  their  application — as  true  in  the  busy 
confines  of  the  city  as  in  the  freer  and  purer  quietude  of 
the  country.  So  far  as  circumstances  can  be  made  to 
yield  the  opportunity,  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  family 
state  demands  some  outdoor  labor  for  all.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  flowers  to  ornament  the  table  and  house,  of  fruits 
and  vegetables  for  food,  of  silk  and  cotton  for  clothing, 
and  the  care  of  horse,  cow,  and  dairy,  can  be  so  divided 
that  each  and  all  of  the  family,  some  part  of  the  day, 
can  take  exercise  in  the  pure  air,  under  the  magnetic  and 
healthful  rays  of  the  sun.  Every  head  of  a  family  should 
seek  a  soil  and  climate  which  will  afford  such  opportuni- 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE.  25 

ties.  Railroads,  enabling  men  toiling  in  cities  to  rear 
families  in  the  country,  are  on  this  account  a  special  bless- 
ing. So,  also,  is  the  opening  of  the  South  to  free  labor, 
where,  in  the  pure  and  mild  climate  of  the  uplands,  open- 
air  labor  can  proceed  most  of  the  year,  and  women  and 
children  labor  out  of  doors  as  well  as  w:  thin. 

In  the  following  drawings  are  presented  modes  of  econ- 
omizing time,  labor,  and  expense  by  the  close  packing  of 
conveniences.  By  such  methods,  small  and  economical 
houses  can  be  made  to  secure  most  of  the  comforts  and 
many  of  the  refinements  of  large  and  expensive  ones. 
The  cottage  at  the  head  of  this  chapter  is  projected  on  a 
plan  which  can  be  adapted  to  a  warm  or  cold  climate  with 
little  change.  By  adding  another  story,  it  would  serve  a 
large  family. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  ground-plan  of  the  first  floor.  On  the 
inside  it  is  forty-three  feet  long  and  twenty-five  wide,  ex- 
cluding conservatories  and  front  and  back  projections.  Its 
inside  height  from  floor  to  ceiling  is  ten  feet.  The  piazzas 
each  side  of  the  front  projection  have  sliding-windows  to 
the  floor,  and  can,  by  glazed  sashes,  be  made  green-houses 
in  winter.  In  a  warm  climate,  piazzas  can  be  made  at  the 
back  side  also. 

In  the  description  and  arrangement,  the  leading  aim  is 
to  show  h'ow  time,  labor,  and  expense  are  saved,  not  only 
in  the  building  but  in  furniture  and  its  arrangement. 
With  this  aim,  the  ground-floor  and  its  furniture  will  first 
be  shown,  then  the  second  story  and  its  furniture,  and 
then  the  basement  and  its  conveniences.  The  conserva- 
tories are  appendages  not  necessary  to  housekeeping,  but 
useful  in  many  ways  pointed  out  more  at  large  in  other 
chapters. 

The  entry  has  arched  recesses  behind  the  front  doors, 
(Fig.  2,)  furnished  with  hooks  for  over-clothes  in  both — a 
box  for  over-shoes  in  one,  and  a  stand  for  umbrellas  in  the 
other.  The  roof  of  the  recess  is  for  statuettes,  busts,  or 


Fig.  1. 


43  X  25 

INSIDE 


10  FEET 
FROM  FLO  OR  TO  CEILING 


DRAWING    ROOM 
25  X  16 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE.  27 

flowers.  The  stairs  turn  twice  with  broad  steps,  making 
a  recess  at  the  lower  landing,  where  a  table  is  set  with  a 
Fig.  2.  vase  of  flowers,  (Fig.  3.)  On  one  side 

of  the  recess  is  a  closet,  arched  to  cor- 
respond with  the  arch  over  the  stairs. 
A  bracket  over  the  first  broad  stair, 
with  flowers  or  statuettes,  is  visible 
from  the  entrance,  and  pictures  can 
be  hung  as  in  the  illustration. 

The  large  room  on  the  left  cam  be 
made  to  serve  the  purpose  of  several 
rooms  by  means  of  a  movable  screen. 
By  shifting  this  rolling  screen  from  one 
part  of  the  room  to  another,  two  apart- 
ments are  always  available,  of  any  de- 
sired size  within  the  limits  of  the  large 
room.  One  side  of  the  screen  fronts 
what  may  be  used  as  the  parlor  or  sitting-room ;  the  other 


side  is  arranged  for 
bedroom  conveni- 
ences. Of  this,  Fig. 
4  shows  the  front 
side ;  covered  first 
with  strong  canvas, 
stretched  and  nailed 
on.  Over  this  is 
pasted  panel-paper, 
and  the  upper  part 
is  made  to  resemble 
an  ornamental  cor- 
nice by  fresco-paper. 
Pictures  can  be 
hung  in  the  panels, 
or  be  pasted  on  and 
varnished  with 
white  varnish.  To 


Fig.  3. 


CLOSET        RECESS 


STAIR 
LANDING 


28 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN"* S  HOME. 


prevent  the  absorption  of  the  varnish,  a  wash  of  gum 
isinglass  (fish-glue)  must  be  applied  twice. 


fi.CLLL£RS 


Fig.  5  shows  the  back  or  inside  of  the  movable  screen, 
toward  the  part  of  the  room  used  as  the  bedroom.  On 
one  side,  and  at  the  top  and  bottom,  it  has  shelves  with 
shelf -loxes,  which  are  cheaper  and  better  than  drawers, 
and  much  preferred  by  those  using  them.  Handles  are 
cut  in  the  front  and  back  side,  as  seen  in  Fig.  6.  Half  an 
inch  space  must  be  between  the  box  and  the  shelf  over  it, 
and  as  much  each  side,  so  that  it  can  be  taken  out  and 
put  in  easily.  The  central  part  of  the  screen's  interior  is 
a  wardrobe. 

This  screen  must  be  so  high  as  nearly  to  reach  the 
ceiling,  in  order  to  prevent  it  from  overturning.  It  is  to 
fill  the  width  of  the  room,  except  two  feet  on  each  side. 
A  projecting  cleat  or  strip,  reaching  nearly  to  the  top  of 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE.  29 

the  screen,  three  inches  wide,  is  to  be  screwed  to  the  front 
sides,  on  which  light  frame  doors  are  to  be  hung,  covered 


Fig.  6. 


with  canvas  and  panel-paper  like  the  front  of  the  screen. 
The  inside  of  these  doors  is  furnished  with  hooks  for  cloth- 
ing, for  which  the  projection  makes  room.  The  whole 
screen  is  to  be  eighteen  inches  deep  at  the  top  and  two 

feet  deep  at  the  base,  giving  a 
solid  foundation.  It  is  moved 
on  four  wooden  rollers,  one 
foot  long  and  four  inches  in 
diameter.  The  pivots  of  the 
rollers  and  the  parts  where 

there  is  friction  must  be  rubbed  with  hard  soap,  and  then 
a  child  can  move  the  whole  easily. 

A  curtain  is  to  be  hung  across  the  whole  interior  of  the 


30 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


screen  by  rings,  on  a  strong  wire.  The  curtain  should  be 
in  three  parts,  with  lead  or  large  nails  in  the  hems  to 
keep  it  in  place.  The  wood- work  must  be  put  together 
with  screws,  as  the  screen  is  too  large  to  pass  through  a 
door. 

At  the  end  of  the  room,  behind  the  screen,  are  two 
couches,  to  be  run  one  under  the  other,  as  in  Fig.  7.     The 


Fig.  7. 


upper  one  is  made  with  four  posts,  each  three  feet  high 

and  three  inches  square,  set  on  casters  two  inches  high. 

The  frame  is  to  be  fourteen  inches  from  the  floor,  seven 

feet  long,  two  feet  four  inches  wide,  and  three  inches  in 

thickness.     At  the  head,  and  at  the  foot,  is  to  be  screwed 

a  notched  two-inch  board,  three  inches  wide,  as  in  Fig.  8. 

The  mortises   are   to  be   one  inch 

Flg'  8'  wide  and  deep,  and  one  inch  apart, 

to  receive   slats  made  of   ash,  oak, 

or  spruce,  one  inch  square,  placed 

lengthwise  of  the  couch.  The  slats  being  small,  and  so 
near  together,  and  running  lengthwise,  make  a  better 
spring  frame  than  wire  coils.  If  they  warp,  they  can  be 
turned.  They  must  not  be  fastened  at  the  ends,  except 
by  insertion  in  the  notches.  Across  the  posts,  and  of  equal 
height  with  them,  are  to  be  screwed  head  and  foot-boards. 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE. 


31 


The  under  conch  is  like  the  upper,  except  these  dimen- 
sions: posts,  nine  inches  high,  including  castors;  frame, 
six  feet  two  inches  long,  two  feet  four  inches  wide.  The 
frame  should  be  as  near  the  floor  as  possible,  resting  on 

the  casters. 

The  most  healthful  and  comfortable  mattress  is  made 

by  a  case,  open  in 

Fig*9'  the     centre     and 

fastened  together 
with  buttons,  as 
in  Fig.  9  ;  to  be 
filled  with  oat 

straw,  which  is  softer  than  wheat  or  rye.     This  can  be 
adjusted  to  the  figure,  and  often  renewed. 

Fig.  10  represents  the  upper  couch  when  covered,  with 
the  under  couch  put  beneath  it.  The  coverlid  should 
match  the  curtain  of  the  screen ;  and  the  pillows,  by  day, 
should  have  a  case  of  the  same. 


Fig.  10. 


Fig.  11. 


Fig.  11  is  an  ottoman,  made  as  a  box,  with  a  lid  on 
hinges.  A  cushion  is  fastened  to  this  lid  by  strings  at 
each  corner,  passing  through  holes  in  the  box  lid  and  tied 
inside.  The  cushion  to  be  cut  square,  with  side  pieces ; 
stuffed  with  hair,  and  stitched  through  like  a  mattress. 
Side  handles  are  made  by  cords  fastened  inside  with  knots. 
The  box  must  be  two  inches  larger  at  the  bottom  than 
at  the  top,  and  the  lid  and  cushion  the  same  size  as  the 
bottom,  to  give  it  a  tasteful  shape.  This  ottoman  is  set 
on  casters,  and  is  a  great  convenience  for  holding  articles, 
while  serving  also  as  a  seat. 


82  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

The  expense  of  the  screen,  where  lumber  averages  $4  a 
hundred,  and  carpenter  labor  $3  a  day,  would  be  about 
$30,  and  the  two  couches  about  $6.  The  material  for 
covering  might  be  cheap  and  yet  pretty.  A  woman  w:th 
these  directions,  and  a  son  or  husband  who  would  use  plane 
and  saw,  could  thus  secure  much  additional  room,  and 
also  what  amounts  to  two  bureaus,  two  large  trunks,  one 
large  wardrobe,  and  a  wash-stand,  for  less  than  $20 — the 
mere  cost  of  materials.  The  screen  and  couches  can  be 
so  arranged  as  to  have  one  room  serve  first  as  a  large  and 
airy  sleeping-room  ;  then,  in  the  morning,  it  may  be  used 
as  sitting-room 'one  side  of  the  screen,  and  breakfast-room 
the  other ;  and  lastly,  through  the  day  it  can  be  made  a 
large  parlor  on  the  front  side,  and  a  sewing  or  retiring- 
room  the  other  side.  The  needless  spaces  usually  devoted 
to  kitchen,  entries,  halls,  back-stairs,  pantries,  store-rooms, 
and  closets,  by  this  method  would  be  used  in  adding  to 
the  size  of  the  large  room,  so  variously  used  by  day  and 
by  night. 

Fig.  12  is  an  enlarged  plan  of  the  kitchen  and  stove- 
room.  The  chimney  and  stove-room  are  contrived  to 
ventilate  the  whole  house,  by  a  mode  exhibited  in  another 
chapter. 

Between  the  two  'rooms  glazed  sliding-doors,  passing 
each  other,  serve  to  shut  out  heat  and  smells  from  the 
kitchen.  The  sides  of  the  stove-roorn  must  be  lined  with 
shelves ;  those  on  the  side  by  the  cellar  stairs,  to  be  one 
foot  wide,  and  eighteen  inches  apart ;  on  the  other  side, 
shelves  may  be  narrower,  eight  inches  wide  and  nine 
inches  apart.  Boxes  with  lids,  to  receive  stove  utensils, 
must  be  placed  near  the  stove. 

On  these  shelves,  and  in  the  closet  and  boxes,  can  be 
placed  every  material  used  for  cooking,  all  the  table  and 
cooking  utensils,  and  all  the  articles  used  in  house  work, 
and  yet  much  spare  room  will  be  left.  The  cook's  galley 
in  a  steamship  has  every  article  and  utensiJ  used  in  cook- 


Fig.  12. 


(FLOUR) 

COOK 

DRAIN 

SINK      I 
"X) 

<o 

0 
0 

Jl-                          £L 

KITCHEN 

9*9 


LANDING 


34  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN9  S  HOME. 

ing  for  two  hundred  persons,  in  a  space  not  larger  than 
this  stove-room,  and  so  arranged  that  with  one  or  two 
steps  the  cook  can  reach  all  he  uses. 

In  contrast  to  this,  in  most  large  houses,  the  table 
furniture,  the  cooking  materials  and  utensils,  the  sink,  and 
the  eating-room,  are  at  such  distances  apart,  that  half  the 
time  and  strength  is  employed  in  walking  back  and  forth 
to  collect  and  return  the  articles  used. 

Fig.  13. 


Fig.  13  is  an  enlarged  plan  of  the  sink  and  cooking- 
form.  Two  windows  make  a  better  circulation  of  air  in 
warm  weather,  by  having  one  open  at  top  and  the  other 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE.  35 

at  the  bottom,  while  the  light  is  better  adjusted  for  work- 
ing, in  case  of  weak  eyes. 

The  flour-barrel  just  fills  the  closet,  which  has  a  door 
for  admission,  and  a  lid  to  raise  when  used.  Beside  it,  is 
the  form  for  cooking,  with  a  moulding-board  laid  on  it ; 
one  side  used  for  preparing  vegetables  and  meat,  and  the 
other  for  moulding  bread.  The  sink  has  two  pumps,  for 
well  and  for  rain-water — one  having  a  forcing  power  to 
throw  water  into  the  reservoir  in  the  garret,  which  sup- 
plies the  water-closet  and  bath-room.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  sink  is  the  dish-drainer,  with  a  ledge  on  the  edge 
next  the  sink,  to  hold  the  dishes,  and  grooves  cut  to  let 
the  water  drain  into  the  sink.  It  has  hinges,  so  that  it 
can  either  rest  on  the  cook-form  or  be  turned  over  and 
cover  the  sink.  Under  the  sink  are  shelf-boxes  placed  on 
two  shelves  run  into  grooves,  with  other  grooves  above 
and  below,  so  that  one  may  move  the  shelves  and  increase 
or  diminish  the  spaces  between.  The  shelf-boxes  can  be 
used  for  scouring-materials,  dish-towels,  and  dish-cloths; 
also  to  hold  bowls  for  bits  of  butter,  fats,  etc.  Under 
these  two  shelves  is  room  for  two  pails,  and  a  jar  for 
soap-grease. 

Under  the  cook-form  are  shelves  and  shelf-boxes  for  un- 
bolted wheat,  corn-meal,  rye,  etc.  Beneath  these,  for 
white  and  brown  sugar,  are  wooden  can-pails,  which  are 
the  best  articles  in  which  to  keep  these  constant  neces- 
sities. Beside  them  is  the  tin  molasses-can  with  a  tight, 
movable  cover,  and  a  cork  in  the  spout.  This  is  much 
better  than  a  jug  for  molasses,  and  also  for  vinegar  and 
oil,  being  easier  to  clean  and  to  handle.  Other  articles 
and  implements  for  cooking  can  be  arranged  on  or  under 
the  shelves  at  the  side  and  front. 
A  small  cooking-tray,  holding 
pepper,  salt,  dredging-box,  knife 
and  spoon,  should  stand  close  at 
hand  by  the  stove,  (Fig.  14.) 


36 


THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  15. 


Fig.  16. 


Fig.  18. 


The  articles  used  for  setting 
tables  are  to  be  placed  on  the 
shelves  at  the  front  and  side  of 
the  sink.  Two  tumbler-trays, 

made    of    pasteboard,    covered         

with  varnished  fancy  papers  and 

divided  by  wires,  (as  shown  in  Fig.  15,)  save  many  steps 

in  setting' and  clearing  table.     Similar  trays,  (Fig.  16,)  for 

knives  and  forks  and  spoons,  serve 

the  same  purpose. 

The  sink  should  be  three  feet 

long    and   three   inches  deep,  its 

width  matching  the  cook-form. 
Fig.  17  is  the  second  or  attic  story.  The  main  objection 
to  attic  rooms  is  their  warmth  in  summer,  owing  to  the 
heated  roof.  This  is  prevented  by  so  enlarging  the  closets 
each  side  that  their  walls  meet 
the  ceiling  under  the  garret 
floor,  thus  excluding  all  the 
roof.  In  the  bed-chambers, 
corner  dressing-tables,  as  Fig. 
18,  instead  of  projecting  bu- 
reaus, save  much  space  for 
use,  and  give  a  handsome 
form  and  finish  to  the  room. 
In  the  bath-room  must  be 
the  opening  to  the  garret,  and 
a  step-ladder  to  reach  it.  A 
reservoir  in  the  garret,  sup- 
plied by  a  forcing-pump  in 
the  cellar  or  at  the  sink,  must 
be  well  supported  by  timbers,  and  the  plumbing  must  be 
well  done,  or  much  annoyance  will  ensue. 

The  large  chambers  are  to  be  lighted  by  large  windows 
or  glazed  sliding-doors,  opening  upon  the  balcony.  A  roof 
can  be  put  over  the  balcony  and  its  sides  inclosed  by  win- 


Fig.  17. 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

dows,  and  the  chamber  extend  into  it,  and  be  thus  much 

enlarged. 

The  water-closets  must  have  the  latest  improvements 

for  safe  discharge,  and  there  will  be  no  trouble.      They 

cost  no  more  than  an  out-door  building,  and  save  from  the 

most  disagreeable  house-labor. 

A  great  improvement,  called  earth-closets,  will  probably 
take  the  place  of  water-closets  to  some  extent ;  though  at 
present  the  water  is  the  more  convenient.  A  description  of 
the  earth-closet  will  be  given  in  another  chapter  relating  to 
tenement-houses  for  the  poor  in  large  cities. 

The  method  of  ventilating  all  the  chambers,  and  also 
the  cellar,  will  be  described  in  another  chapter. 

Fig.  19  represents  a  shoe-bag,  Fig  19 

that  can  be  fastened   to  the  side 
of  a  closet  or  closet-door. 

Fig.  20  represents  a  piece-bag, 
and  is  a  very  great  labor  and  space- 
saving  invention.  It  is  made  of 
calico,  and  fastened  to  the  side  of 
a  closet,  or  a  door,  to  hold  all  the 
bundles  that  are  usually  stowed 
in  trunks  and  drawers.  India- 
rubber  or  elastic  tape  drawn  into 
hems  to  hold  the  contents  of  the 
bag  is  better  than  tape-strings. 
Each  bag  should  be  labeled  with 
the  name  of  its  contents,  written 

with  indelible  ink  on  white  tape  sewed  on  to  the  bag. 
Such  systematic  arrangement  saves  much  time  and  annoy- 
ance. Drawers  or  trunks  to  hold  these  articles  can  not  be 
kept  so  easily  in  good  order,  and  moreover,  occupy  spaces 
saved  by  this  contrivance. 

Fig.  21  is  the  basement.  It  has  the  floor  and  sides  plas- 
tered, and  is  lighted  with  glazed  doors.  A  form  is  raised 
close  by  the  cellar  stairs,  fgr  baskets,  pails,  and  tubs. 


A   CHRISTIAN  HOUSE. 


39 


Here,  also,  the  refrigerator  can  be  placed,  or,  what  is 
better,  an  ice-closet  can  be  made,  as  designated  in  the 
illustration.  The  floor  of  the  basement  must  be  an  in- 
clined plane  toward  a  drain,  and  be  plastered  with  water- 
lime.  The  wash-tubs  have  plugs  in  the  bottom  to  let  off 
water,  and  cocks  and  pipes*  over  them  bringing  cold  water 
from  the  reservoir  in  the  garret  and  hot  water  from  the 
laundry  stove.  This  saves  much  heavy  labor  of  emptying 
tubs  and  carrying  water. 

The  laundry  closet  has  a  stove  for  heating  irons,  and 
also  a  kettle  on  top  for  heating  water.     Slides  or  clothes- 


Fig.  20. 


NEW  WHITE 
COTTONS 


COLORED 
COTTONS 
CALICO 


Fig.  21. 


IRONING 

TABLE 

til 

Ml 

(0 

LAUNDRY 

o 

Lj 

LAZED  DOOR                                                       O 

5 

0                 I 

z 
-I 

TUBS                          °C 

1  0        LAUNDRY        i 

SLIDES 


i   WOOD      FURNACE 

AND 

COAL 


...j 


GLAZED  DOOR 


FRUIT& 
STORES 


VEGETABLES 


A    CHRISTIAN  HOUSE.  41 

frames  are  made  to  draw  out  to  receive  wet  clothes,  and 
then  run  into  the  closet  to  dry.  This  saves  health  as  well 
as  time  and  money,  and  the  clothes  are  as  white  as  when 
dried  outdoors. 

The  wood-work  of  the  house,  for  doors,  windows,  etc., 
should  be  oiled  chestnut,  butternut,  whitewood,  and  pine. 
This  is  cheaper,  handsomer,  and  more  easy  to  keep  clean 
than  painted  wood. 

In  Fig.  1  are  planned  two  conservatories,  and  few  under- 
stand their  value  in  the  training  of  the  young.  They  pro- 
vide soil,  in  which  children,  through  the  winter  months, 
can  be  starting  seeds  and  plants  for  their  gardens  and  rais- 
ing valuable,  tender  plants.  Every  child  should  cultivate 
flowers  and  fruits  to  sell  and  to  give  away,  and  thus  be 
taught  to  learn  the  value  of  money  and  to  practice  both 
economy  and  benevolence. 

According  to  the  calculation  of  a  house-carpenter,  in  a 
place  where  the  average  price  of  lumber  is  $4:  a  hundred, 
and  carpenter  work  $3  a  day,  such  a  house  can  be  built 
for  $1600.  For  those  practicing  the  closest  economy,  two 
small  families  could  occupy  it,  by  dividing  the  kitchen, 
and  yet  have  room  enough.  Or  one  large  room  and  the 
chamber  over  it  can  be  left  till  increase  of  family  and 
means  require  enlargement. 

A  strong  horse  and  carryall,  with  a  cow,  garden,  vine- 
yard, and  orchard,  on  a  few  acres,  would  secure  all  the 
substantial  comforts  found  in  great  establishments,  with- 
out the  trouble  of  ill-qualified  servants. 

And  if  the  parents  and  children  were  united  in  the 
daily  labors  of  the  house,  garden,  and  fruit  culture,  such 
thrift,  health,  and  happiness  would  be  secured  as  is  but 
rarely  found  among  the  rich. 

Let  us  suppose  a  colony  of  cultivated  and  Christian  peo- 
ple, having  abundant  wealth,  who  now  are  living  as  the 
wealthy  usually  do,  emigrating  to  some  of  the  beauti- 
ful Southern  uplands,  where  are  rocks,  hills,  valleys,  and 


42  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

mountains  as  picturesque  as  those  of  New-England,  where 
the  thermometer  but  rarely  reaches  90°  in  summer,  and 
in  winter  as  rarely  sinks  below  freezing-point,  so  that  out- 
door labor  g6es  on  all  the  year,  where  the  fertile  soil  is 
easily  worked,  where  rich  tropical  fruits  and  flowers 
abound,  where  cotton  and  silk  can  be  raised  by  children 
around  their  home,  where  the  produce  of  vineyards  and 
orchards  finds  steady  markets  by  railroads  ready  made ; 
suppose  such  a  colony,  with  a  central  church  and  school- 
room, library,  hall  for  sports,  and  a  common  laundry,  (tak- 
ing the  most  trying  part  of  domestic  labor  from  each 
house,) — suppose  each  family  to  train  the  children  to 
labor  with  the  hands  as  a  healthful  and  honorable  duty ; 
suppose  all  this,  which  is  perfectly  practicable,  would  not 
the  enjoyment  of  this  life  be  increased,  and  also  abundant 
treasures  be  laid  up  in  heaven,  by  using  the  wealth  thus 
economized  in  diffusing  similar  enjoyments  and  culture 
among  the  poor,  ignorant,  and  neglected  ones  in  desolated 
sections  where  many  now  are  perishing  for  want  of  such 
Christian  example  and  influences  ? 


m. 


A   HEALTHFUL   HOME. 

"  the  wise  woman  buildeth  lier  house,"  the  first 
consideration  will  be  the  health  of  the  inmates.  The 
first  and  most  indispensable  requisite  for  health  is  pure 
air,  both  by  day  and  night. 

If  the  parents  of  a  family  should  daily  withhold  from 
their  children  a  large  portion  of  food  needful  to  growth 
and  health,  and  every  night  should  administer  to  each  a 
small  dose  of  poison,  it  would  be  called  murder  of  the 
most  hideous  character.  But  it  is  probable  that  more 
than  one  half  of  this  nation  are  doing  that  very  thing. 
The  murderous  operation  is  perpetrated  daily  and  nightly, 
in  our  parlors,  our  bed-rooms,  our  kitchens,  our  school- 
rooms; and  even  our  churches  are  no  asylum  from  the 
barbarity.  'Nor  can  we  escape  by  our  railroads,  for  even 
there  the  same  dreadful  work  is  going  on. 

The  only  palliating  circumstance  is  the  ignorance  of 
those  who  commit  these  wholesale  murders.  As  saith  the 
Scripture,  "  The  people  do  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge." 
And  it  is  this  lack  of  knowledge  which  it  is  woman's 
special  business  to  supply,  in  first  training  her  household 
to  intelligence  as  the  indispensable  road  to  virtue  and 
happiness. 

The  above  statements  will  be  illustrated  by  some  ac- 
count of  the  manner  in  which  the  body  is  supplied  with 
healthful  nutriment.  There  are  two  modes  of  nourishing 
the  body,  one  is  by  food  and  the  other  by  air.  In  the 


44 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


stomach,  the  food  is  dissolved,  and  the  nutritious  portion 
is  absorbed  by  the  blood,  and  then  is  carried  by  blood- 
vessels to  the  lungs,  where  it  receives  oxygen  from  the 
air  we  breathe.  This  oxygen  is  as  necessary  to  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  body  as  the  food  for  the  stomach.  In  a  full- 
grown  man  weighing  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  pounds, 
one  hundred  and  eleven  pounds  consists  of  oxygen,  ob- 
tained chiefly  from  the  air  we  breathe.  Thus  the  lungs 
feed  the  body  with  oxygen,  as  really  as  the  stomach  sup- 
plies the  other  food  required. 

The  lungs  occupy  the  upper 
portion  of  the  body  from  the 
collar-bone  to  the  lower  ribs, 
and  between  their  two  lobes  is 
placed  the  heart. 

Fig.  22  shows  the  position  of 
the  lungs,  though  not  the  exact 
shape.  On  the  right  hand  is 
the  exterior  of  ,one  of  the  lobes, 
and  on  the  left  hand  are  seen 
the  branching  tubes  of  the  in- 
terior, through  which  the  air 
we  breathe  passes  to  the  ex- 
ceedingly minute  air-cells  of 
which  the  lungs  chiefly  consist. 
Fig.  23  shows  the  outside  of  a 
cluster  of  these  air-cells,  and 
Fig.  24  is  the  in-  Fig.  &L 

side  view.  The 
lining  membrane 
of  each  air-cell  is 
covered  by  a  net- 
work of  minute 
blood-vessels  call- 
ed capil  laries, 
which,  magnified 


Fig. 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME. 


45 


Fig.  25. 


Fig.  36. 


several  hundred  times,  appear  in  the  microscope  as  at  Fig. 
25.  Every  air-cell  has  a  blood-vessel  that  brings  blood 
from  the  heart, 
which  meanders 
through  its  capil- 
laries till  it  reach- 
es another  blood- 
vessel that  carries 
it  back  to  the 
heart,  as  seen  in 
Fig.  26.  In  this 

passage  of  the  blood  through  these 
capillaries,  the  air  in  the  air-cell  ini- 
parts  its  oxygen  to  the  blood,  and  re- 
ceives in  exchange  carbonic  acid  and 
watery  vapor.  These  latter  are  expir- 
ed at  every  breath  into  the  atmo- 
sphere. 

By  calculating  the  number  of  air 
cells  in  a  small  portion  of  the  lungs,  under  a  miser oscope, 
it  is  ascertained  that  there  are  no  less  than  eighteen  mil- 
lion of  these  wonderful  little  purifiers  and  feeders  of  the 
body.  By  their  ceaseless  ministries,  every  grown  person 
receives,  each  day,  thirty-three  hogsheads  of  air  into  the 
lungs  to  nourish  and  vitalize  every  part  of  the  body,  and 
also  to  carry  off  its  impurities. 

But  the  heart  has  a  most  important  agency  in  this 
operation.  Fig.  27  is  a  diagram  of  the  heart,  which  is 
placed  between  the  two  lobes  of  the  lungs.  The  right 
side  of  the  heart  receives  the  dark  and  impure  blood, 
which  is  loaded  with  carbonic  acid.  '  It  is  brought  from 
every  point  of  the  body  by  branching  veins  that  unite  in 
the  upper  and  the  lower  vena  cava,  which  discharge  into 
the  right  side  of  the  heart.  This  impure  blood  passes  to 
the  capillaries  of  the  air-cells  in  the  lungs,  where  it  gives 
off  carbonic  acid,  and,  taking  oxygen  from  the  air,  then 


46 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^  S  HOME. 


returns  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart,  from  whence  it  is  sent 
out  through  the  aorta  and  its  myriad  branching  arteries 
to  every  part  of  the  body. 

AORTA.  When   the  up- 

per portion  of  the 
heart  contracts,  it 
forces  both  the 
pure  blood  from 
the  lungs,  and 
the  impure  blood 
from  the  body, 


through  the 
valves  marked  V, 
Y,  into  the  lower 
part.  "When  the 
lower  portion 
contracts,  it  closes 
the  valves  and 

Fig  37  forces  the  impure 

blood     into     the 

lungs  on  one  side,  and  also  on  the  other  side  forces  the 
purified  blood  through  the  aorta  and  arteries  to  all  parts 
of  the  body. 

As  before  stated,  the  lungs  consist  chiefly  of  air-cells, 
the  walls  of  which  are  lined  with  minute  blood-vessels; 
and  we  know  that  in  every  man  these  air-cells  number 
eighteen  millions. 

Now  every  beat  of  the  heart  sends  two  ounces  of  blood 
into  the  minute,  hair-like  blood-vessels,  called  capillaries, 
that  line  these  air-cells,  whef  e  the  air  in  the  air-cells  gives 
its  oxygen  to  the  blood,  an.d  in  its  place  receives  carbonic 
acid.  This  gas  is  then  expired  by  the  lungs  into  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere. 

Thus,  by  this  powerful  little  organ,  the  heart,  no  less 
than  twenty-eight  pounds  of  blood,  in  a  common-sized 
man,  is  sent  three  times  every  hour  through  the  lungs, 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME.  47 

giving  out  carbonic  acid  and  watery  vapor,  and  receiving 
the  life-inspiring  oxygen. 

Whether  all  this  blood  shall  convey  the  nourishing  and 
invigorating  oxygen  to  every  part  of  the  body,  or  return 
unrelieved  of  carbonic  acid,  depends  entirely  on  the  pure- 
ness  of  the  atmosphere  that  is  breathed. 

Every  time  we  think  or  feel,  this  mental  action  dissolves 
some  particles  of  the  brain  and  nerves,  which  pass  into 
the  blood  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  body  through  the  lungs 
and  skin.  In  like  manner,  whenever  we  move  any  muscle, 
some  of  its  particles  decay  and  pass  away.  It  is  in  the 
capillaries,  which  are  all  over  the  body,  that  this  change 
takes  place.  The  blood-vessels  that  convey  the  pure  blood 
from  the  heart,  divide  into  myriads  of  little  branches  that 
terminate  in  capillary  vessels  like  those  lining  the  air-cells 
of  the  lungs.  The  blood  meanders  through  these  minute 
capillaries,  depositing  the  oxygen  taken  from  the  lungs 
and  the  food  of  the  stomach,  and  receiving  in  return  the 
decayed  matter,  which  is  chiefly  carbonic  acid. 

This  carbonic  acid  is  formed  by  the  union  of  oxygen 
with  carbon  or  charcoal,  which  forms  a  large  portion  of 
the  body.  Watery  vapor  is  also  formed  in  the  capillaries 
by  the  union  of  oxygen  with  the  hydrogen  contained  in 
the  food  and  drink  that  nourish  the  body. 

During  this  process  in  the  capillaries,  the  bright  red 
blood  of  the  arteries  changes  to  the  purple  blood  of  the 
veins,  which  is  carried  back  to  the  heart,  to  be  sent  to  the 
lungs  as  before  described.  A  portion  of  the  oxygen  re- 
ceived in  the  lungs  unites  with  the  dissolved  food  sent 
from  the  stomach  into  the  blood,  and  no  food  can  notrish 
the  body  till  it  has  received  a  proper  supply  of  oxygen  in 
the  lungs.  At  every  breath  a  half-pint  of  blood  receives 
its  needed  oxygen  in  the  lungs,  and  at  the  same  time  gives 
out  an  equal  amount  of  carbonic  acid  and  water. 

Now,  this  carbonic  acid,  if  received  into  the  lungs, 
undiluted  by  sufficient  air,  is  a  fatal  poison,  causing 


48  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

certain  death.  "When  it  is  mixed  with  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  air,  it  is  a  slow  poison,  which  imperceptibly  under- 
mines the  constitution. 

"We  now  can  understand  how  it  is  that  all  who  live  in 
houses  where  the  breathing  of  inmates  has  deprived  the 
air  of  oxygen,  and  loaded  it  with  carbonic  acid,  may  truly 
be  said  to  be  poisoned  and  starved ;  poisoned  with  carbonic 
acid,  and  starved  for  want  of  oxygen. 

Whenever  oxygen  unites  with  carbon  to  form  carbonic 
acid,  or  with  hydrogen  to  form  water,  heat  is  generated 
Thus  it  is  that  a  kind  of  combustion  is  constantly  going 
on  in  the  capillaries  all  over  the  body.  It  is  this  burning 
of  the  decaying  portions  of  the  body  that  causes  animal 
heat.  It  is  a  process  similar  to  that,  which  takes  place 
when  lamps  and  candles  are  burning.  The  oil  and  tallow} 
which  are  chiefly  carbon  and  hydrogen,  unite  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  air  and  form  carbonic  acid  and  watery 
vapor,  producing  heat  during  the  process.  So  in  the  ca- 
pillaries all  over  the  body,  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  sup- 
plied to  the  blood  by  the  stomach,  unite  with  the  oxygen 
gained  in  the  lungs,  and  cause  the  heat  which  is  diffused 
all  over  the  body. 

The  skin  also  performs  an  office,  similar  to  that  of  the 
lungs.  In  the  skin  of  every  adult  there  are  no  less  than 
seven  million  minute  perspirating  tubes,  each  one  fourth 
of  an  inch  long.  If  all  these  were  united  in  one  length, 
they  would  extend  twenty-eight  miles.  These  minute 
tubes  are  lined  with  capillary  blood-vessels,  which  are* 
constantly  sending  out  not  only  carbonic  acid,  but  other 
gases  and  particles  of  decayed  matter.  The  skin  and 
lungs  together,  in  one  day  and  night,  throw  out  three 
quarters  of  a  pound  of  charcoal  as  carbonic  acid,  beside 
other  gases  and  water. 

While  the  bodies  of  men  and  animals  are  filling  the 
air  with  the  poisonous  carbonic  acid,  and  using  up  the 
life-giving  oxygen,  the  trees  and  plants  are  performing  an 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME.  49 

exactly  contrary  process ;  for  they  are  absorbing  carbonic 
acid  and  giving  out  oxygen.  Thus,  by  a  wonderful 
arrangement  of  the  beneficent  Creator,  a  constant  equi- 
librium is  preserved.  What  animals  use  is  provided  by 
vegetables,  and  what  vegetables  require  is  furnished  by 
animals ;  and  all  goes  on,  day  and  night,  without  care  or 
thought  of  man. 

The  human  race  in  its  infancy  was  placed  in  a  mild 
and  genial  clime,  where  each  separate  family  dwelt  in 
tents,  and  breathed,  both  day  and  night,  the  pure  air  of 
heaven.  And  when  they  became  scattered  abroad  to 
colder  climes,  the  open  fire-place  secured  a  full  supply  of 
pure  air.  Eut  civilization  has  increased  economies  and 
conveniences  far  ahead  of  the  knowledge  needed  by  the 
common  people  for  their  healthful  use.  Tight  sleeping- 
rooms,  and  close,  air-tight  stoves,  are  now  starving  and  poi- 
soning more  than  one  half  of  this  nation.  It  seems  im- 
possible to  make  people  know  their  danger.  And  the 
remedy  for  this  is  the  light  of  knowledge  and  intelligence 
which  it  is  woman's  special  mission  to  bestow,  as  she  con- 
trols and  regulates  the  ministries  of  a  home. 

The  poisoning  process  is  thus  exhibited  in  Mrs.  Stowe's 
"  House  and  Home  Papers,"  and  can  not  be  recalled  too 
often : 

"  ]STo  other  gift  of  God,  so  precious,  so  inspiring,  is  treat- 
ed with  such  utter  irreverence  and  contempt  in  the  calcu- 
lations of  us  mortals  as  this  same  air  of  heaven.  A  ser- 
mon on  oxygen,  if  we  had  a  preacher  who  understood  the 
subject,  might  do  more  to  repress  sin  than  the  most  ortho- 
dox discourse  to  show  when  and  how  and  why  sin  came. 
A  minister  gets  up  in  a  crowded  lecture-room,  where  the 
mephitic  air  almost  makes  the  candles  burn  blue,  and  be- 
wails the  deadness  of  the  church — the  church  the  while, 
drugged  by  the  poisoned  air,  growing  sleepier  and  sleepier, 
though  they  feel  dreadfully  wicked  for  being  so. 

"  Little  Jim,  who,  fresh  from  his  afternoon's  ramble  in 


50  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'' S  HOME. 

the  fields,  last  evening  said  his  prayers  dutifully,  and  lay 
down  to  sleep  in  a  most  Christian  frame,  this  morning  sits 
up  in  bed  with  his  hair  bristling  with  crossness,  strikes  at 
his  nurse,  and  declares  he  won't  say  his  prayers — that  he 
don't  want  to  be  good.  The  simple  difference  is,  that  the 
child,  having  slept  in  a  close  box  of  a  room,  his  brain  all 
night  fed  by  poison,  is  in  a  mild  state  of  moral  insanity. 
Delicate  women  remark  that  it  takes  them  till  eleven  or 
twelve  o'clock  to  get  up  their  strength  in  the  morning. 
Query,  Do  they  sleep  with  closed  windows  and  doors,  and 
with  heavy  bed-curtains  ? 

"  The  houses  built  by  our  ancestors  were  better  ventila- 
ted in  certain  respects  than  modern  ones,  with  all  their 
improvements.  The  great  central  chimney,  with  its  open 
fire-places  in  the  different  rooms,  created  a  constant  cur- 
rent which  carried  off  foul  and  vitiated  air.  In  these 
days,  how  common  is  it  to  provide  rooms  with  only  a  flue 
for  a  stove !  This  flue  is  kept  shut  in  summer,  and  in  win- 
ter opened  only  to  admit  a  close  stove,  which  burns  away 
the  vital  portion  of  the  air  quite  as  fast  as  the  occupants 
breathe  it  away.  The  sealing  up  of  fire-places  and  intro- 
duction of  air-tight  stoves  may,  doubtless,  be  a  saving  of 
fuel ;  it  saves,  too,  more  than  that ;  in  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  cases  it  has  saved  people  from  all  further  human 
wants,  and  put  an  end  forever  to  any  needs  short  of  the 
six  feet  of  narrow  earth  which  are  man's  only  inalienable 
property.  In  other  words,  since  the  invention  of  air-tight 
stoves,  thousands  have  died  of  slow  poison. 

"  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  reflect  upon,  that  our  northern 
winters  last  from  November  to  May,  six  long  months,  in 
which  many  families  confine  themselves  to  one  room,  of 
which  every  window-crack  has  been  carefully  calked  to 
make  it  air-tight,  wnere  an  air-tight  stove  keeps  the  atmo- 
sphere at  a  temperature  between  eighty  and  ninety ;  and 
the  inmates,  sitting  there  with  all  their  winter  clothes  on, 
become  enervated  both  by  the  heat  and  by  the  poisoned 


A  HEALTHFUL   HOME.  51 

air,  for  which  there  is  no  escape  but  the  occasional  open- 
ing of  a  door. 

"  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  first  result  of  all  this  is  such 
a  delicacy  of  skin  and  lungs  that  about  half  the  inmates 
are  obliged  to  give  up  going  into  the  open  air  during  the 
six  cold  months,  because  they  invariably  catch  cold  if  they 
do  so.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  cold  caught  about  the  first 
of  December  has  by  the  first  of  March  become  a  fixed  con- 
sumption, and  that  the  opening  of  the  spring,  which  ought 
to  bring  life  and  health,  in  so  many  cases  brings  death. 

"  We  hear  of  the  lean  condition  in  which  the  poor  bears 
emerge  from  their  six  months'  wintering,  during  which 
they  subsist  on  the  fat  which  they  have  acquired  the  pre- 
vious summer.  Even  so,  in  our  long  winters,  multitudes 
of  delicate  people  subsist  on  the  daily  waning  strength 
which  they  acquired  in  the  season  when  windows  and 
doors  were  open,  and  fresh  air  was  a  constant  luxury.  No 
wonder  we  hear  of  spring  fever  and  spring  biliousness,  and 
have  thousands  of  nostrums  for  clearing  the  blood  in  the 
spring.  All  these  things  are  the  pantings  and  palpita 
tions  of  a  system  run  down  under  slow  poison,  unable  to 
get  a  step  further. 

"  Better,  far  better,  the  old  houses  of  the  olden  time, 
with  their  great  roaring  fires,  and  their  bed-rooms  where 
the  snow  came  in  and  the  wintry  winds  whistled.  Then, 
to  be  sure,  you  froze  your  back  while  you  burned  your 
face,  your  water  froze  nightly  in  your  pitcher,  your  breath 
congealed  in  ice- wreaths  on  the  blankets,  and  you  could 
write  your  name  on  the  pretty  snow-wreath  that  had  sifted 
in  through  the  window-cracks.  But  you  woke  full  of  life 
and  vigor,  you  looked  out  into  the  whirling  snow-storms 
without  a  shiver,  and  thought  nothing  of  plunging  through 
drifts  as  high  as  your  head  on  your  daily  way  to  school. 
You  jingled  in  sleighs,  you  snow-balled,  you  lived  in  snow 
like  a  snow-bird,  and  your  blood  coursed  and  tingled,  in 
lull  tide  of  good,  merry,  real  life,  through  your  veins — 


52  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

none  of  the  slow-creeping,  black  blood  which  clogs  the 
brain  and  lies  like  a  weight  on  the  vital  wheels !" 

To  illustrate  the  effects  of  this  poison,  the  horrors  of 
"the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta"  are  often  referred  to, 
where  one  hundred  and  forty-six  men  were  crowded  into 
a  room  only  eighteen  feet  square  with  but  two  small  win- 
dows, and  in  a  hot  climate.  After  a  night  .of  such  horri- 
ble torments  as  chill  the  blood  to  read,  the  morning 
showed  a  pile  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  dead  men 
and  twenty- three  half  dead  that  were  finally  recovered 
only  to  a  life  of  weakness  and  suffering. 

In  another  case,  a  captain  of  the  steamer  Londonderry, 
in  1848,  from  sheer  ignorance  of  the  consequences,  in  a 
storm,  shut  up  his  passengers  in  a  tight  room  without  win- 
dows. The  agonies,  groans,  curses,  and  shrieks  that  fol- 
lowed were  horrible.  The  struggling  mass  finally  burst 
the  door,  and  the  captain  fountl  seventy-two  of  the  two 
hundred  already  dead ;  while  others,  with  blood  starting 
from  their  eyes  and  ears,  and  their  bodies  in  convulsions, 
were  restored,  many  only  to  a  life  of  sickness  and  de- 
bility. 

It  is  ascertained  by  experiments  that  breathing  bad 
air  tends  so  to  reduce  all  the  processes  of  the  body,  that 
less  oxygen  is  demanded  and  less  carbonic  acid  sent  out. 
This,  of  course,  lessens  the  vitality  and  weakens  the  con- 
stitution ;  and  it  accounts  for  the  fact  that  a  person  of  full 
health,  accustomed  to  pure  air,  suffers  from  bad  air  far 
more  than  those  who  are  accustomed  to  it.  The  body  of 
strong  and  healthy  persons  demands  more  oxygen,  and 
throws  off  more  carbonic  acid,  and  is  distressed  when  the 
supply  fails.  But  the  one  reduced  by  bad  air  feels  little 
inconvenience,  because  all  the  functions  of  life  are  so  slow 
that  less  oxygen  is  needed,  and  less  carbonic  acid  thrown 
out.  And  the  sensibilities  being  deadened,  the  evil  is  not 
felt.  This  provision  of  nature  prolongs  many  lives,  though 
it  turns  vigorous  constitutions  into  feeble  ones.  Were  it 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME.  53 

not  for  this  change  in  the  constitution,  thousands  in  badly 
ventilated  rooms  and  houses  would  come  to  a  speedy  death. 

One  of  the  results  of  un ventilated  rooms  is  scrofula.  A 
distinguished  French  physician,  M.  Baudeloque,  states  that : 

"  The  repeated  respiration  of  the  same  atmosphere  is 
the  cause  of  scrofula.  If  there  be  entirely  pure  air,  there 
may  be  bad  food,  bad  clothing,  and  want  of  personal  clean- 
liness, but  scrofulous  disease  can  not  exist.  This  disease 
never  attacks  persons  who  pass  their  lives  in  the  open  air, 
and  always  manifests  itself  when  they  abide  in  air  which 
is  unrenewed.  Invariably  it  will  be  found  that  a  tru.y 
scrofulous  disease  is  caused  by  vitiated  air ;  and  it  is  not 
necessary  that  there  should  be  a  prolonged  stay  in  such 
an  atmosphere.  Often,  several  hours  each  day  is  suffi- 
cient. Thus  persons  may  live  in  the  most  healthy  coun- 
try, pass  most  of  the  day  in  the  open  air,  and  yet  become 
scrofulous  by  sleeping  in  a  close  room  where  the  air  is  not 
renewed.  This  is  the  case  with  many  shepherds  who  pass 
their  nights  in  small  huts  with  no  opening  but  a  door 
closed  tight  at  night." 

The  same  writer  illustrates  this  by  the  history  of  a 
French  village  where  the  inhabitants  all  slept  in  close,  un- 
ventilated  houses.  Nearly  all  were  seized  with  scrofula, 
and  many  families  became  wholly  extinct,  their  last  mem- 
bers dying  "rotten  with  scrofula."  A  fire  destroyed  a 
large  part  of  this  village.  Houses  were  then  built  to 
secure  pure  air,  and  scrofula  disappeared  from  the  part 
thus  rebuilt. 

We  are  informed  by  medical  writers  that  defective  ven- 
tilation is  one  great  cause  of  diseased  joints,  as  well  as  of 
diseases  of  the  eyes,  ears,  and  skin. 

Foul  air  is  the  leading  cause  of  tubercular  and  scrofu- 
lous consumption,  so  very  common  in  our  country.  Dr. 
Guy,  in  his  examination  before  public  health  commission- 
ers in  Great  Britain,  says :  "  Deficient  ventilation  I  believe 
to  be  more  fatal  than  all  other  causes  put  together."  He 


54  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  SOME. 

states  that  consumption  is  twice  as  common  among  trades* 
men  as  among  the  gentry,  owing  to  the  bad  ventilation  of 
their  stores  and  dwellings. 

Dr.  Griscom,  in  his  work  on  Uses  and  Abuses  of  Air, 
says: 

"  Food  carried  from  the  stomach  to  the  blood  can  not  be- 
come nutritive  till  it  is  properly  oxygenated  in  the  lungs ; 
so  that  a  small  quantity  of  food,  even  if  less  wholesome, 
may  be  made  nutritive  by  pure  air  as  it  passes  through 
the  lungs.  But  the  best  of  food  can  not  be  changed  into 
nutritive  blood  till  it  is  vitalized  by  pure  air  in  the  lungs." 

And  again : 

"  To  those  who  have  the  care  and  instruction  of  the  ris- 
ing generation — the  future  fathers  and  mothers  of  men — 
this  subject  of  ventilation  commends  itself  with  an  inter- 
est surpassing  every  other.  Nothing  can  more  convincing- 
ly establish  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  something  vital- 
ly wrong  in  the  habits  and  circumstances  of  civilized  life 
than  the  appalling  fact  that  one  fourth  of  all  who  are  born 
die  before  reaching  the  fifth  year,  and  one  half  the  deaths 
of  mankind  occur  under  the  twentieth  year.  Let  those 
who  have  these  things  in  charge  answer  to  their  own  con- 
sciences how  they  discharge  their  duty  in  supplying  to  the 
young  a  pure  atmosphere,  which  is  the  ftrst  requisite  for 
healthy  "bodies  and  sound  minds" 

On  the  subject  of  infant  mortality  the  experience  of  sav- 
ages should  teach  the  more  civilized.  Professor  Brewer, 
who  traveled  extensively  among  the  Indians  of  our  western 
territories,  states :  "  I  have  rarely  seen  a  sick  boy  among 
the  Indians."  Catlin,  the  painter,  who  resided  and  traveled 
BO  much  among  these  people,  states  that  infant  mortality  is 
very  small  among  them,  the  reason,  of  course,  being  abun- 
dant exercise  and  pure  air. 

Dr.  Dio  Lewis,  whose  labors  in  the  cause  of  health  are 
well  known,  in  his  very  useful  work,  Weak  Lungs^  and 
How  to  Make  them  Strong -,  says : 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME.  55 

"  As  a  medical  man  I  have  visited  thousands  of  sick- 
rooms, and  have  not  found  in  one  in  a  hu/ndred  of  them 
a  pure  atmosphere.  I  have  often  returned  from  church 
doubting  whether  I  had  not  committed  a  sin  in  exposing 
myself  so  long  to  its  poisonous  air.  There  are  in  our  great 
cities  churches  costing  $50,000,  in  the  construction  of  which 
not  fifty  cents  were  expended  in  providing  means  for  ven- 
tilation. Ten  thousand  dollars  for  ornament,  but  not  ten 
cents  for  pure  air ! 

"  Unventilated  parlors,  with  gas-burners,  (each  consum- 
ing as  much  oxygen  as  several  men,)  made  as  tight  as  pos- 
sible, and  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  spending  half 
the  night  in  them !  In  1861, 1  visited  a  legislative  hall, 
the  legislature  being  in  session.  I  remained  half  an  hour 
in  the  most  impure  air  I  ever  breathed.  Our  school-houses 
are,  some  of  them,  so  vile  in  this  respect,  that  I  would  pre- 
fer to  have  my  son  remain  in  utter  ignorance  of  books 
rather  than  to  breathe,  six  hours  every  day,  such  a  poison- 
ous atmosphere.  Theatres  and  concert-rooms  are  so  foul 
that  only  reckless  people  continue  to  visit  them.  Twelve 
hours  in  a  railway-car  exhausts  one,  not  by  the  journeying, 
but  because  of  the  devitalized  air.  While  crossing  the 
ocean  in  a  Cunard  steamer,  I  was  amazed  that  men  who 
knew  enough  to  construct  such  ships  did  not  know  enough 
to  furnish  air  to  the  passengers.  The  distress  of  sea-sick- 
ness is  greatly  intensified  by  the  sickening  air  of  the  ship. 
Were  carbonic  acid  only  ~black,  what  a  contrast  there  would 
be  between  our  hotels  in  their  elaborate  ornament ! 

"  Some  time  since  I  visited  an  establishment  where  one 
hundred  and  fifty  girls,  in  a  single  room,  were  engaged  in 
needle- work.  Pale-faced,  and  with  low  vitality  and  feeble 
circulation,  they  were  unconscious  that  they  were  breath- 
ing air  that  at  once  produced  in  me  dizziness  and  a  sense 
of  suffocation.  If  I  had  remained  a  week  with  them,  I 
should,  by  reduced  vitality,  have  become  unconscious  of 
the  vileness  of  the  air  1" 


56  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

There  is  a  prevailing  prejudice  against  night  air  as  un- 
liealthful  to  be  admitted  into  sleeping-rooms,  which  is 
owing  wholly  to  sheer  ignorance.  In  the  night  every 
body  necessarily  breathes  night  air  and  no  other.  When 
admitted  from  without  into  a  sleeping-room  it  is  colder, 
and  therefore  heavier,  than  the  air  within,  so  it  sinks  to 
the  bottom  of  the  room  and  forces  out  an  equal  quantity 
of  the  impure  air,  warmed  and  vitiated  by  passing  through 
the  lungs  of  inmates.  Thus  the  question  is,  Shall  we  shut 
up  a  chamber  and  breathe  night  air  vitiated  with  carbonic 
acid  or  night  air  that  is  pure  ?  The  only  real  difficulty 
about  night  air  is,  that  usually  it  is  damper,  and  therefore 
colder  and  more  likely  to  chill.  This  is  easily  prevented 
by  sufficient  bed-clothing. 

One  other  very  prevalent  mistake  is  found  even  in  books 
written  by  learned  men.  It  is  often  thought  that  carbonic 
acid,  being  heavier  than  common  air,  sinks  to  the  floor  of 
sleeping-rooms,  so  that  the  low  trundle-beds  for  children 
should  not  be  used.  This  is  all  a  mistake ;  for,  as  a  fact,  in 
close  sleeping-rooms  the  purest  air  is  below  and  the  most  im- 
pure above.  It  is  true  that  carbonic  acid  is  heavier  than  com- 
mon air,  when  pure ;  but  this  it  rarely  is  except  in  chemical 
experiments.  It  is  the  property  of  all  gases,  as  well  as  of 
the  two  (oxygen  and  nitrogen)  composing  the  atmosphere, 
that  when  brought  together  they  always  are  entirely  mixed, 
each  being  equally  diffused  exactly  as  it  would  be  if  alone. 
Thus  the  carbonic  acid  from  the  skin  and  lungs,  being 
warmed  in  the  body,  rises  as  does  the  common  air,  with 
which  it  mixes,  toward  the  top  of  a  room  ;  so  that  usually 
there  is  more  carbonic  acid  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom  of 
a  room.*  Both  common  air  and  carbonic  acid  expand  and 
become  lighter  in  the  same  proportions ;  that  is,  for  every 


*  Prof.  Brewer,  of  the  Yale  Scientific  School,  says :  "  As  a  fact,  often 
demonstrated  by  analysis,  there  is  generally  more  carbonic  acid  near  the 
ceiling  than  near  the  floor." 


A  HEALTHFUL  HOME.  57 

degree  of  added  heat  they  expand  at  the  rate  of  T|-T  of 
thei*  bulk. 

Here,  let  it  be  remembered,  that  in  ill-ventilated  rooms 
the  carbonic  acid  is  not  the  only  cause  of  disease.  Experi- 
ments seem  to  prove  that  other  matter  thrown  out  of  the 
body,  through  the  lungs  and  skin,  is  as  truly  excrement  and 
in  a  state  of  decay  as  that  ejected  from  the  bowels,  and  as 
poisonous  to  the  animal  system.  Carbonic  acid  has  no 
odor;  but  we  are  warned  by  the  disagreeable  effluvia  of 
close  sleeping-rooms  of  the  other  poison  thus  thrown  into 
the  air  from  the  skin  and  lungs.  There  is  one  provision  of 
nature  that  is  little  understood,  which  saves  the  lives  of 
thousands  living  in  unventilated  houses;  and  that  is,  the 
passage  of  pure  air  inward  and  impure  air  outward  through 
the  pores  of  bricks,  wood,  stone,  and  mortar.  "Were  such 
dwellings  changed  to  tin,  which  is  not  thus  porous,  in  less 
than  a  week  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  would  be  in 
danger  of  perishing  by  suffocation. 

These  statements  give  some  idea  of  the  evils  to  be  reme- 
died. But  the  most  difficult  point  is  how  to  secure  the 
remedy.  For  often  the  attempt  to  secure  pure  air  by  one 
class  of  persons  brings  chills,  colds,  and  disease  on  another 
class,  from  mere  ignorance  or  mismanagement. 

To  illustrate  this,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  those 
who  live  in  warm,  close,  and  unventilated  rooms  are  much 
more  liable  to  take  cold  from  exposure  to  draughts  and 
cold  air  than  those  of  vigorous  vitality  accustomed  to 
breathe  pure  air. 

Thus  the  strong  and  healthy  husband,  feeling  the  want 
of  pure  air  in  the  night,  and  knowing  its  importance,  keeps 
.windows  open  and  makes  such  draughts  that  the  wife,  who 
lives  all  day  in  a  close  room  and  thus  is  low  in  vitality,  can 
not  bear  the  change,  has  colds,  and  sometimes  perishes  a 
victim  to  wrong  modes  of  ventilation. 

So,  even  in  health-establishments,  the  patients  will  pass 
most  of  their  days  and  nights  in  badly- ventilated  rooms. 


58 

But  at  times  the  physician,  or  some  earnest  patient,  insists 
on  a  mode  of  ventilation  that  brings  more  evil  than -good 
to  the  delicate  inmates. 

The  grand  art  of  ventifating  houses  is  by  some  method 
that  will  empty  rooms  of  the  vitiated  air  and  bring  in  a 
supply  of  pure  air  "by  small  and  imperceptible  currents. 

But  this  important  duty  of  a  Christian  woman  is  one 
that  demands  more  science,  care,  and  attention  than 
almost  any  other;  and  yet,  to  prepare  her  for  this  duty 
has  never  been  any  part  of  female  education.  Young 
women  are  taught  to  draw  mathematical  diagrams  and  to 
solve  astronomical  problems ;  but  few,  if  any,  of  them  are 
taught  to  solve  the  problem  of  a  house  constructed  to  se- 
cure pure  and  moist  air  by  day  and  night  for  all  its  inmates. 

The  heating  and  management  of  the  air  we  breathe  is 
one  of  the  most  complicated  problems  of  domestic  econo- 
my, as  will  be  farther  illustrated  in  the  succeeding  chap- 
ter; and  yet  it  is  one  of  which  most  American  women 
are  profoundly  ignorant. 


IV. 

SCIENTIFIC    DOMESTIC   VENTILATION. 

have  seen  in  the  preceding  pages  the  process  throngh 
which  the  air  is  rendered  unhealthful  by  close  rooms  and 
want  of  ventilation.  Every  person  inspires  air  about  twenty 
times  each  minute,  using  half  a  pint  each  time.  At  this 
rate,  every  pair  of  lungs  vititates  one  hogshead  of  air  every 
hour.  The  membrane  that  lines  the  multitudinous  air-cells 
of  the  lungs  in  which  the  capillaries  are,  should  it  be  united 
in  one  sheet,  would  cover  the  floor  of  a  room  twelve 
feet  square.  Every  breath  brings  a  surface  of  air  in  contact 
with  this  extent  of  capillaries,  by  which  the  air  inspired 
gives  up  most  of  its  oxygen  and  receives  carbonic  acid  in 
its  stead.  These  facts  furnish  a  guide  for  the  proper  venti- 
lation of  rooms.  Just  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  per- 
sons in  a  room  or  a  house,  should  be  the  amount  of  air 
brought  in  and  carried  out  by  arrangements  for  ventilation. 
But  how  rarely  is  this  rule  regarded  in  building  houses  or 
in  the  care  of  families  by  housekeepers ! 

The  evils  resulting  from  the  substitution  of  stoves  in- 
stead of  the  open  fireplace,  have  led  scientific  and  benevo- 
lent men  to  contrive  various  modes  of  supplying  pure  air 
to  both  public  and  private  houses.  But  as  yet  little  has 
been  accomplished,  except  for  a  few  of  the  more  intelligent 
and  wealthy.  The  great  majority  of  the  American  people, 
owing  to  sheer  ignorance,  are,  for  want  of  pure  air,  being 
poisoned  and  starved ;  the  result  being  weakened  constitu- 
tions, frequent  disease,  and  shortened  life. 


60  THE  AMERICAN  WOMA^S  HOME. 

"Whenever  a  family-room  is  heated  by  an  open  fire,  it  is 
duly  ventilated,  as  the  impure  air  is  constantly  passing  off 
through  the  chimney,  while,  to  supply  the  vacated  space, 
the  pure  air  presses  in  through  the  cracks  of  doors,  win- 
dows, and  floors.  No  such  supply  is  gained  for  rooms 
warmed  by  stoves.  And  yet,  from  mistaken  motives  of 
economy,  as  well  as  from  ignorance  of  the  resulting  evils, 
multitudes  of  householders  are  thus  destroying  health  and 
shortening  life,  especially  in  regard  to  women  and  children 
who  spend  most  of  their  time  within-doors. 

The  most  successful  modes  of  making  "  a  healthful  home  " 
by  a  full  supply  of  pure  air  to  every  inmate,  will  now  be 
described  and  illustrated. 

It  is  the  common  property  of  both  air  and  water  to  ex- 
pand, become  lighter  and  rise,  just  in  proportion  as  they 
are  heated;  and  therefore  it  is  the  invariable  law  that  cool 
air  sinks,  thus  replacing  the  warmer  air  below.  Thus, 
whenever  cool  air  enters  a  warm  room,  it  sinks  downward 
and  takes  the  place  of  an  equal  amount  of  the  warmer  air, 
which  is  constantly  tending  upward  and  outward.  This 
principle  of  all  fluids  is  illustrated  by  the  following  experi- 
ment: 

Take  a  glass  jar  about  a  foot  high  and  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and  with  a  wire  to  aid  in  placing  it  aright,  sink 
a  small  bit  of  lighted  candle  so  as  to  stand  in  the  centre  at 
the  bottom.  (Fig.  28.)  The  candle  will  heat  the  air  of  the 
jar,  which  will  rise  a  little  on  one  side,  while  the  colder  air 
without  will  begin  falling  on  the  other  side.  These  two 
currents  will  so  conflict  as  finally  to  cease,  and  then  the 
candle,  having  no  supply  of  oxygen  from  fresh  air,  will  be- 
gin to  go  out.  Insert  a  bit  of  stiff  paper  so  as  to  divide 
the  mouth  of  the  j-ar,  and  instantly  the  cold  and  warm  air 
are  not  in  conflict  as  before,  because  a  current  is  formed 
each  side  of  the  paper  ;  the  cold  air  descending  on  one  side 
and  the  warm  air  ascending  the  other  side,  as  indicated  by 
the  arrows.  As  long  as  the  paper  remains,  the  candle  will 


SCIENTIFIC  DOMESTIC   VENTILATION. 


61 


/'. 


Fig.  29. 


burn,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  removed,  it  will  begin  to  go  out, 
and  can  be  restored  by  again  inserting  the  paper. 

This  illustrates  the  mode  by  which  coal-mines  are  venti- 
Fig.  28.  lated  when  filled  with  carbonic 

!/*  acid.   A  shaft  divided  into  two 

passages,  (Fig.  29,)  is  let  down 
' ^  into  the  mine,  where  the  air  is 

warmer  than  the  outside  air. 
Immediately  the  colder  air  outside 
presses  down  into  the  mine,  through 
the  passage  which  is  highest,  being 
admitted  by  the  escape  of  an  equal 
quantity  of  the 
warmer  air, 
which  rises 
through  the  low- 
er passage  of  the 
shaft,  this  being 
the  first  availa- 
ble opening  for 
it  to  rise  through. 
A  current  is  thus 
created,  which 

continues  as  long  as  the  inside  air  is 
warmer  than  that  without  the  mine, 
and  no  longer.  Sometimes  a  fire  is 
kindled  in  the  mine,  in  order  to  con- 
tinue or  increase  the  warmth,  and 
consequent  upward  current  of  its  air. 
This  illustrates  one  of  the  cases 
where  a  "  wise  woman  that  buildeth 
her  house"  is  greatly  needed.  For, 
owing  to  the  ignorance  of  architects, 
house-builders,  and  men  in  general, 
they  have  been  building  school- 
houses,  dwelling-houses,  churches, 


62  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN9 S  HOME. 

and  colleges,  with  the  most  absurd  and  senseless  contriv- 
ances for  ventilation,  and  all  from  not  applying  this  simple 
principle  of  science.  On  this  point,  Prof.  Brewer,  of  the 
Scientific  School  of  Yale  College,  writes  thus  : 

"  I  have  been  in  public  buildings,  (I  have  one  in  mind 
now,  filled  with  dormitories,)  which  cost  half  a  million, 
where  they  attempted  to  ventilate  every  room  by  a  flue,  long 
and  narrow,  built  into  partition  walls,  and  extending  up  into 
the  capacious  garret  of  the  fifth  story.  Every  room  in  the 
building  had  one  such  flue,  with  an  opening  into  it  at  the 
floor  and  at  the  ceiling.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
whole  concern  was  entirely  useless.  Had  these  flues  been 
of  proper  proportions,  and  properly  divided,  the  desired 
ventilation  would  have  been  secured." 

And  this  piece  of  ignorant  folly  was  perpetrated  in  the 
midst  of  learned  professors,  teaching  the  laws  of  fluids  and 
the  laws  of  health. 

A  learned  physician  also  thus  wrote  to  the  author  of 
this  chapter :  "  The  subject  of  the  ventilation  of  our  dwell- 
ing-houses is  one  of  the  most  important  questions  of  our 
times.  How  many  thousands  are  victims  to  a  slow  suicide 
and  murder,  the  chief  instrument  of  which  is  want  of  ven- 
tilation !  How  few  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  every  person, 
every  day,  vitiates  thirty-three  hogsheads  of  the  air,  and 
that  each  inspiration  takes  one  fifth  of  the  oxygen,  and 
returns  as  much  carbonic  acid,  from  every  pair  of  lungs  in 
a  room !  How  few  understand  that  after  air  has  received 
ten  per  cent  of  this  fatal  gas,  if  drawn  into  the  lungs,  it 
can  no  longer  take  'carbonic  acid  from  the  capillaries !  No 
wonder  there  is  so  much  impaired  nervous  and  muscular 
energy,  so  much  scrofula,  tubercles,  catarrhs,  dyspepsia, 
and  typhoid  diseases.  I  hope  you  can  do  r^uch  to  remedy 
the  poisonous  air  of  thousands  and  thousands  of  stove- 
heated  rooms." 

In  a  cold  climate  and  wintry  weather,  the  grand  im- 
pediment to  ventilating  rooms  by  opening  doors  or  wir» 


SCIENTIFIC  DOMESTIC   VENTILATION.  63 

dows  is  the  dangerous  currents  thus  produced,  which  are 
so  injurious  to  the  delicate  ones  that  for  their  sake  it  can 
not  be  done.  Then,  also,  as  a  matter  of  economy,  the 
poor  can  not  afford  to  practice  a  method  which  carries 
off  the  heat  generated  bj  their  stinted  store  of  fuel. 
Even  in  a  warm  season  and  climate,  there  are  frequent 
periods  when  the  air  without  is  damp  and  chilly,  and  yet 
at  nearly  the  same  temperature  as  that  in  the  house.  At 
such  times,  the  opening  of  windows  often  has  little  effect 
in  emptying  a  room  of  vitiated  air.  The  ventilating-flues, 
such  as  are  used  in  mines,  have,  in  such  cases,  but  little 
influence ;  for  it  is  only  when  outside  air  is  colder  that  a 
current  can  be  produced  within  by  this  method. 

The  most  successful  mode  of  ventilating  a  house  is  by 
creating  a  current  of  warm  air  in  a  flue,  into  which  an 
opening  is  made  at  both  the  top  and  the  bottom  of  a  room, 
while  a  similar  opening  for  outside  air  is  made  at  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  room.  This  is  the  mode  employed  in  che- 
mical laboratories  for  removing  smells  and  injurious  gases. 

The  laboratory-closet  is  closed  with  glazed  doors,  and  has 
an  opening  to  receive  pure  air  through  a  conductor  from 
without.  The  stove  or  furnace  within  has  a  pipe  which  joins 
a  larger  cast-iron  chimney-pipe,  which  is  warmed  by  the 
smoke  it  receives  from  this  and  other  fires.  This  cast-iron 
pipe  is  surrounded  by  a  brick  flue,  through  which  air  passes 
from  below  to  be  warmed  by  the  pipe,  and  thus  an  upward 
current  of  warm  air  is  created.  Openings  are  then  made 
at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  laboratory-closet  into  the  warm- 
air  flue,  and  the  gases  and  smells  are  pressed  by  the  colder 
air  into  this  flue,  and  are  carried  off  in  the  current  of  warm  air. 

The  same  method  is  employed  in  the  dwelling-house 
shown  in  a  preceding  chapter.  A  cast-iron  pipe  is  made 
in  sections,  which  are  to  be  united,  and  the  whole  fastened 
at  top  and  bottom  in  the  centre  of  the  warm-air  flue  by 
ears  extending  to  the  bricksa  and  fastened  when  the  flue  is 
in  process  of  building.  Projecting  openings  to  receive  the 


64 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  30. 


pipes  of  the  furnace,  the  laundry  stove,  and  two  stoves  in 
each  story,  should  be  provided,  which  must  be  closed  when 
not  in  use.  A  large  opening  is  to  be  made  into  the  warm- 
air  flue,  and  through  this  the  kitchen  stove-pipe  is  to  pass, 
and  be  joined  to  the  cast-iron  chimney-pipe.  Thus  the 
smoke  of  the  kitchen  stove  will  warm  the  iron  -chimney- 
pipe,  and  this  will  warm  the  air  of  the  flue,  causing  a  cur- 
rent upward,  and  this  current  will  draw  the  heat  and  smells 

of  cooking  out  of  the  kitchen 
into  the  opening  of  the  warin- 
air  flue.  Every  room  sur- 
rounding the  chimney  has  an 
opening  at  the  top  and  bottom 
into  the  warm-air  flue  for  ven- 
tilation, as  also  have  the  bath- 
room and  water-closets. 

The  writer  has  examined 
the  methods  most  employed 
at  the  present  time,  which  are 
all  modifications  of  the  two 
modes  here  described.  One 
is  that  of  Robinson,  patented 
by  a  Boston  company,  which 
is  a  modification  of  the  min- 
ing mode.  It  consists  of  the 
two  ventilating  tubes,  such  as 
are  employed  in  mines,  united 
in  one  shaft  with  a  roof  to 
keep  out  rain,  and  a  valve  to 
regulate  the  entrance  and  exit 
of  air,  as  illustrated  in  Fig. 
30.  This  method  works  well 
in  certain  circumstances,  but 
fails  so  often  as  to  prove  very  unreliable.  Another  mode 
is  that  of  Ruttan,  which  is  effected  by  heating  air.  This 
also  has  certain  advantages  and  disadvantages.  But  the 


SCIENTIFIC  DOMESTIC    VENTILATION.  65 

mode  adopted  for  the  preceding  cottage  plan  is  free  from 
the  difficulties  of  both  the  above  methods,  while  it  will 
surely  ventilate  every  room  in  the  house,  both  by  day  and 
night,  and  at  all  seasons,  without,  any  risk  to  health,  and  re- 
quiring no  attention  or  care  from  the  family. 

By  means  of  a  very  small  amount  of  fuel  in  the  kitchen 
stove,  to  be  described  hereafter,  the  whole  house  can  be 
ventilated,  and  all  the  cooking  done  both  in  warm  and  cold 
weather.  This  stove  will  also  warm  the  whole  house,  in  the 
Northern  States,  eight  or  nine  months  in  the  year.  Two 
Franklin  stoves,  in  addition^  will  warm  the  whole  house 
during  the  three  or  four  remaining  coldest  months. 

In  a  warm  climate  or  season,  by  means  of  the  non-con- 
ducting castings,  the  stove  will  ventilate  the  house  and  do 
all  the  cooking,  without  imparting  heat  or  smells  to  any 
part  of  the  house  except  the  stove-closet. 

At  the  close  of  this  volume,  drawings,  prepared  by  Mr. 
Lewis  Leeds,  are  given,  more  fully  to  illustrate  this  mode 
of  warming  and  ventilation,  and  in  so  plain  and  simple  a 
form  that  any  intelligent  woman  who  has  read  this  work 
can  see  that  the  plan  is  properly  executed,  even  with  work- 
men so  entirely  ignorant  on  this  important  subject  ,as  are 
most  house-builders,  especially  in  the  newer  territories.  In 
the  same  article,  directions  are  given  as  to  the  best  modes 
of  ventilating  houses  that  are  already  built  without  any 
arrangements  for  ventilation. 


V. 


THE    CONSTRUCTION    AND    CAKE    OF    STOVES,    FURNACES,    AND 
CHIMNEYS. 

IF  all  American  housekeepers  could  be  taught  how  to 
select  and  manage  the  most  economical  and  convenient 
apparatus  for  cooking  and  for  warming  a  house,  many 
millions  now  wasted  by  ignorance  and  neglect  would  be 
saved.  Every  woman  should  be  taught  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples in  regard  to  heat,  and  then  their  application  to  prac- 
tical purposes,  for  her  own  benefit,  and  also  to  enable  her 
to  train  her  children  and  servants  in  this  important  duty 
of  home  life  on  which  health  and  comfort  so  much  de- 
pend. 

The  laws  that  regulate  the  generation,  diffusion,  and  pre- 
servation of  heat  as  yet  are  a  sealed  mystery  to  thousands 
of  young  women  who  imagine  they  are  completing  a  suit- 
able education  in  courses  of  instruction  from  which  most 
that  is  practical  in  future  domestic  life  is  wholly  excluded. 
We  therefore  give  a  brief  outline  of  some  of  the  leading 
scientific  principles  which  every  housekeeper  should  un 
derstand  and  employ,  in  order  to  perform  successfully  one 
of  her  most  important  duties. 

Concerning  the  essential  nature  of  heat,  and  its  intimate 
relations  with  the  other  great  natural  forces,  light,  electri- 
city, etc.,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  treat,  but  shall,  for  prac- 
tical purposes,  assume  it  to  be  a  separate  and  independent 
force. 

Heat  or  caloric,  then,  has  certain  powers  or  principles. 
Let  us  consider  them  : 


STOVES,   FURNACES,   AND   CHIMNEYS.  67 

First,  we  find  Conduction,  by  winch  heat  passes  from  one 
particle  to  another  next  to  it ;  as  when  one  end  of  a  poker 
is  warmed  by  placing  the  other  end  in  the  fire.  The  bodies 
which  allow  this  power  free  course  are  called  conductors, 
and  those  which  do  not  are  named  non-conductors.  Metals 
are  good  conductors ;  feathers,  wool,  and  furs  are  poor  con- 
ductors ;  and  water,  air,  and  gases  are  non-conductors. 

Another  principle  of  heat  is  Convection,  by  which  water, 
air,  and  gases  are  warmed.  This  is,  literally,  the  process 
of  conveying  heat  from  one  portion  of  a  fluid  body  to  an- 
other by  currents  resulting  from  changes  of  temperature. 
It  is  secured  by  bringing  one  portion  of  a  liquid  or  gas 
into  contact  with  a  heated  surface,  whereby  it  becomes 
lighter  and  expanded  in  volume.  In  consequence,  the 
cooler  and  heavier  particles  above  pressing  downward, 
the  lighter  ones  rise  upward,  when  the  former,  being 
heated,  rise  in  their  turn,  and  give  place  to  others  again 
descending  from  above.  Thus  a  constant  motion  of  cur- 
rents and  interchange  of  particles  is  produced  until,  as  in 
a  vessel  of  water,  the  whole  body  comes  to  an  equal  tem- 
perature. Air  is  heated  in  the  same  way.  In  case  of  a 
hot  stove,  the  air  that  touches  it  is  heated,  becomes  lighter, 
and  rises,  giving  place  to  cooler  and  heavier  particles, 
which,  when  heated,  also  ascend.  It  is  owing  to  this  pro- 
cess that  the  air  of  a  room  is  warmest  at  the  top  and  coolest 
at  the  bottom. 

It  is  owing  to  this  principle,  also,  that  water  and  air 
can  not  be  heated  by  fire  from  above.  For  the  particles 
of  these  bodies,  being  non-conductors,  do  not  impart  heat 
to  each  other ;  and  when  the  warmest  are  at  the  top,  they 
can  not  take  the  place  of  cooler  and  heavier  ones  below. 

Another  principle  of  heat  (which  it  shares  with  light)  is 
Radiation,  by  which  all  things  send  out  heat  to  surround- 
ing cooler  bodies.  Some  bodies  will  absorb  radiated  heat, 
others  will  reflect  it,  and  others  allow  it  to  pass  through 
them  without  either  absorbing  or  reflecting  Thus,  black 


68 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


and  rough  substances  absorb  heat,  (or  light,)  colored  and 
smooth  articles  reflect  it,  while  air  allows  it  to  pass  through 
without  either  absorbing  or  reflecting.  It  is  owing  to  this, 
that  rough  and  black  vessels  boil  water  sooner  than  smooth 
and  light-colored  ones. 

Another  principle  is  Reflection,  by  which  heat  radiated 
to  a  surface  is  turned  back  from  it  when  not  absorbed  or 
allowed  to  pass  through ;  just  as  a  ball  rebounds  from  a 
wall;  just  as  sound  is  thrown  back  from  a  hill,  making 
echo;  just  as  rays  of  light  are  reflected  from  a  mirror. 

And,  as  with  light,  the 
rays  of  heat  are  always 
reflected  from  a  surface 
in  an  angle  exactly  cor- 
responding to  the  direc- 
tion in  which  it  strikes 
that  surface.  Thus,  if 
__  heated  air  comes  to  an 


Fig.  31. 


object  perpendicularly — 

that  is,  at  right  angles,  it  will  be  reflected  back  in  the 
same  line.     If  it  strikes  obliquely,  it  is  reflected  obliquely, 
at  an  angle  with  the  sur- 
face precisely  the  same  Fig>  ^ 
as  the  angle  with  which 
it  first  struck.     And,  of 
course,   if  it    moves  to- 
ward   the     surface    and 
comes  upon  it  in  a  line 
having  so  small  an  angle      i 
with   it   as  to  be  almost 
parallel  with  it,  the  heated  air  is  spread  wide  and  diffused 

through   a  larger    space 

— .,^>  ^^^^     than  when  the  angles  are 

~~"" — ^~~  greater  and  the  width  of 

reflection  less. 
The  simplest  mode  of  wanning  a  house  and  cooking  food 


STOVES)  FURNACES^  AND   CHIMNEYS.  69 

is  by  radiated  heat. from  fires ;  but  this  is  the  most  wasteful 
method,  as  respects  time,  labor,  and  expense.  The  mos-t  con- 
venient, economical,  and  labor-saving  mode  of  employing 
heat  is  by  convection,  as  applied  in  stoves  and  furnaces. 
But  for  want  of  proper  care  and  scientific  knowledge  this 
method  has  proved  very  destructive  to  health.  When 
warming  and  cooking  were  done  by  open  fires,  houses  were 
well  supplied  with  pure  air,  as  is  rarely  the  case  in  rooms 
heated  by  stoves.  For  such  is  the  prevailing  ignorance  on 
this  subject  that,  as  long  as  stoves  save  labor  and  warm  the 
air,  the  great  majority  of  people,  especially  among  the 
poor,  will  use  them  in  ways  that  involve  debilitated  con- 
stitutions and  frequent  disease. 

The  most  common  modes  of  cooking,  where  open  fires 
are  relinquished,  are  by  the  range  and  the  cooking-stove. 
The  range  is  inferior  to  the  stove  in  these  respects :  it  is 
less  economical,  demanding  much  more  fuel ;  it  endangers 
the  dress  of  the  cook  while  standing  near  for  various  ope- 
rations; it  requires  more  stooping  than  the  stove  while 
cooking ;  it  will  not  keep  a  fire  all  night,  as  do  the  best 
stoves ;  it  will  not  burn  wood  and  coal  equally  well ;  and 
lastly,  if  it  warms  the  kitchen  sufficiently  in  winter,  it  is 
too  warm  for  summer.  Some  prefer  it  because  the  fumes 
of  cooking  can  be  carried  off;  but  stoves  properly  arranged 
accomplish  this  equally  well. 

After  extensive  inquiry  and  many  personal  experiments, 
the  author  has  found  a  cooking-stove  constructed  on  true 
scientific  principles,  which  unites  convenience,  comfort,  and 
economy  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Of  this  stove,  drawings 
and  descriptions  will  now  be  given,  as  the  best  mode  of 
illustrating  the  practical  applications  of  these  principles  to 
the  art  of  cooking,  and  to  show  how  much  American  wo- 
men have  suffered  and  how  much  they  have  been  imposed 
upon  for  want  of  proper  knowledge  in  this  branch  of  theii 
profession.  And  every  woman  can  understand  what  fol- 
lows with  much  less  effort  than  young  girls  at  high-schools 


70  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN' S  HOME. 

give  to  the  first  problems  of  Geometry— for  which  they  will 
never  have  any  practical  use,  while  attention  to  this  prob- 
lem of  home  affairs  will  cultivate  the  intellect  quite  as 
much  as  the  abstract  reasonings  of  Algebra  and  Geometry. 

Pig.  34. 


Fig.  34  represents  a  portion  of  the  interior  of  this  cook- 
ing-stove. First,  notice  the  fire-box,  which  has  corrugated 
(literally,  wrinkled)  sides,  by  which  space  is  economized, 
so  that  as  much  heating  surface  is  secured  as  if  they  were 
one  third  larger ;  as  the  heat  radiates  from  every  part  of 
the  undulating  surface,  which  is  one  third  greater  in  super- 
ficial extent  than  if  it  were  plane.  The  shape  of  the  fire- 
box also  secures  more  heat  by  having  oblique  sides — 
which  radiate  more  effectively  into  the  oven  beneath  than 
if  they  were  perpendicular,  as  illustrated  below — while 
also  it  is  sunk  into  the  oven,  so  as  to  radiate  from  three 
instead  of  from  two  sides,  as  in  most  other  stoves,  the 


STOVES,   FURNACES,   AND   CHIMNEYS.  71 

front  of  whose  fire-boxes  with  their  grates  are  built  so  as 
to  be  the  front  of  the  stove  itself. 

The  oven  is  the  space  under  and  around  the  back  and 
Fio.  gg  front  sides  of  the  fire-box.  Fig.  35. 

The  oven-bottom  is  not         _/D_ 

rl he. 

BOX 


.....  introduced    in    the    dia- 

BOX  /--.""-•-  .     .        . 

gram,  but  it  is  a  horizon- 
tal plate  between  the  fire- 
box and  what  is  represen- 


WEN 


OVEN 


Model  stove.  ted  as  the  "  flue-plate," 
which  separates  the  oven  from  the  bottom  of  the  stove. 
The  top  of  the  oven  is  the  horizontal  corrugated  plate 
passing  from  the  rear  edge  of  the  fire-box  to  the  back  flues. 
These  are  three,  in  number — the  back  centre-flue,  which 
is  closed  to  the  heat  and  smoke  coming  over  the  oven  from 
the  fire-box  by  a  damper — and  the  two  back  corner-flues. 
Down  these  two  corner-flues  passes  the  current  of  hot  air 
and  smoke,  having  first  drawn  across  the  corrugated  oven- 
top.  The  arrows  show  its  descent  through  these  flues, 
from  which  it  obliquely  strikes  and  passes  over  the  flue- 
plate,  then  under  it,  and  then  out  through  the  centre  back- 
flue,  which  is  open  at  the  bottom,  up  into  the  smoke-pipe. 

The  flue-plate  is  placed  obliquely,  to  accumulate  heat  by 
forcing  and  compression ;  for  the  back  space  where  the 
smoke  enters  from  the  corner-flues  is  largest,  and  decreases 
toward  the  front,  so  that  the  hot  current  is  compressed  in  a 
narrow  space,  between  the  oven-bottom  and  the  flue-plate 
at  the  place  where  the  bent  arrows  are  seen.  Here  again 
it  enters  a  wider  space,  under  the  flue-plate,  and  proceeds 
to  another  narrow  one,  between  the  flue-plate  and  the 
bottom  of  the  stove,  and  thus  is  compressed  and  re- 
tained longer  than  if  not  impeded  by  these  various  con- 
trivances. The  heat  and  smoke  also  strike  the  plate 
obliquely,  and  thus,  by  reflection  from  its  surface,  impart 
more  heat  than  if  the  passage  was  a  horizontal  one. 

The  external  radiation  is  regulated  by  the  use  of  non- 


72  THE  AMERICAN  WGMAN*  S  HOME. 

conducting  plaster  applied  to  the  flue-plate  and  to  the  sides 
of  the  corner-flues,  so  that  the  heat  is  prevented  from  radi- 
ating in  any  direction  except  toward  the  oven.  The  doors, 
sides,  and  bottom  of  the  stove  are  lined  with  tin  casings, 
which  hold  a  stratum  of  air,  also  a  non-conductor.  These  are 
so  arranged  as  to  be  removed  whenever  the  weather  becomes 
cold,  so  that  the  heat  may  then  radiate  into  the  kitchen. 
The  outer  edges  of  the  oven  are  also  similarly  protected  from 
loss  of  heat  by  tin  casings  and  air-spaces,  and  the  oven-doors 
opening  at  the  front  of  the  store  are  provided  with  the  same 
economical  savers  of  heat.  High  tin  covers  placed  on  the 
top  prevent  the  heat  from  radiating  above  the  stove. 
These  are  exceedingly  useful,  as  the  space  under  them  is 
well  heated  and  arranged  for  baking,  for  heating  irons, 
and  many  other  incidental  necessities.  Cake  and  pies  can 
be  baked  on  the  top,  while  the  oven  is  used  for  bread  or 
for  meats.  When  all  the  casings  and  covers  are  on,  almost 
all  the  heat  is  confined  within  the  stove,  and  whenever 
heat  for  the  room  is  wanted,  opening  the  front  oven-doors 
turns  it  out  into  the  kitchen. 

Another  contrivance  is  that  of  ventilating-holes  in  the 
front  doors,  through  which  fresh  air  is  brought  into  the 
oven.  This  secures  several  purposes :  it  carries  off  the 
fumes  of  cooking  meats,  and  prevents  the  mixing  of  flavors 
when  different  articles  are  cooked  in  the  oven ;  it  drives 
the  heat  that  accumulates  between  the  fire-box  and  front 
doors  down  around  the  oven,  and  equalizes  its  heat,  so  that 
articles  need  not  be  moved  while  baking ;  and  lastly,  as 
the  air  passes  through  the  holes  of  the  fire-box,  it  causes 
the  burning  of  gases  in  the  smoke,  and  thus  increases  heat. 
When  wood  or  bituminous  coal  is  used,  perforated  metal 
linings  are  put  in  the  fire-box,  and  the  result  is  the  burn- 
ing of  smoke  and  gases  that  otherwise  would  pass  into  the 
chimney.  This  is  a  great  discovery  in  the  economy  of 
fuel,  which  can  be  applied  in  many  ways.  > 

Heretofore,  most  cooking-stoves  have  had  dumping-grates, 


STOVES,   FURNACES,   AND    CHIMNEYS.  73 

wliicli  are  inconvenient  from  the  dust  produced,  are  uneco- 
nomical in  the  use  of  fuel,  and  disadvantageous  from  too 
many  or  too  loose  joints.  But  recently  this  stove  has  been 
provided  with  a  dumping-grate  which  also  will  sift  ashes, 
and  can  be  cleaned  without  dust  and  the  other  objection- 
able features  of  dumping-grates.  A  further  account  of  this 
stove,  and  the  mode  of  purchasing  and  using  it,  will  be 
given  at  the  close  of  the  book. 

Those  who  are  taught  to  manage  the  stove  properly 
keep  the  fire  going  all  night,  and  equally  well  with  wood 
or  coal,  thus  saving  the  expense  of  kindling  and  the  trouble 
of  starting  a  new  fire.  When  the  fuel  is  of  good  quality, 
all  that  is  needed  in  the  morning  is  to  draw  the  back- 
damper,  shake  the  grate,  and  add  more  fuel. 

Another  remarkable  feature  of  this  stove  is  the  extension- 
top,  on  which  is  placed  a  water  reservoir,  constantly  heated 
by  the  smoke  as  it  passes  from  the  stove,  through  one  or  two 
uniting  passages,  to  the  smoke-pipe.  Under  this  is  placed 
a  closet  for  warming  and  keeping  hot  the  dishes,  vegetables, 
meats,  etc.,  while  preparing  for  dinner.  It  is  also  very 
useful  in  drying  fruit ;  and  when  large  baking  is  required, 
a  small  appended  pot  for  charcoal  turns  it  into  a  fine  large 
oven,  that  bakes  as  nicely  as  a  brick  oven. 

Another  useful  appendage  is  a  common  tin  oven,  in 
which  roasting  can  be  done  in  front  of  the  stove,  the  oven- 
doors  being  removed  for  the  purpose.  The  roast  will  be 
done  as  perfectly  as  by  an  open  fire. 

This  stove  is  furnished  with  pipes  for  heating  water,  like 
the  water-back  of  ranges,  and  these  can  be  taken  or  left 
out  at  pleasure.  So  also  the  top  covers,  the  baking-stool 
and  pot,  and  the  summer-back,  bottom,  and  side-casings 
can  be  used  or  omitted  as  preferred. 

Fig.  37  exhibits  the  stove  completed,  with  all  its  appen- 
dages, as  they  might  be  employed  in  cooking  for  a  large 
number 

Its  capacity,  convenience,  and  economy  as  a  stove  may 


74  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

be  estimated  by  the  following  fact :  With  proper  manage- 
ment of  dampers,  one  ordinary-sized  coal-hod  of  anthracite 
coal  will,  for  twenty-four  hours,  keep  the  stove  running, 
keep  seventeen  gallons  of  water  hot  at  all  hours,  bake  pies 

Fig.  37. 


'-DOOR  DAMPER 


and  puddings  in  the  warm  closet,  heat  flat-irons  under  the 
back  cover,  boil  tea-kettle  and  one  pot  under  the  front 
cover,  bake  bread  in  the  oven,  and  cook  a  turkey  in  the 
tin  roaster  in  front.  The  author  has  numerous  friends, 
who,  after  trying  the  best  ranges,  have  dismissed  them  for 
this  stove,  and  in  two  or  three  years  cleared  the  whole  ex- 
pense by  the  saving  of  fuel. 

The  remarkable  durability  of  this  stove  is  another  eco- 
nomic feature.     For  in  addition  to  its  fine  castings  and 


STOVES)  FURNACES,  AND   CHIMNEYS.  75 

nice-fitting  workmanship,  all  the  parts  liable  to  burn  out 
are  so  protected  by  linings,  and  other  contrivances  easily- 
renewed,  that  the  stove  itself  may  pass  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another,  as  do  ordinary  chimneys.  The  writer  has 
visited  in  families  where  this  stove  had  been  in  constant 
use  for  eighteen  and  twenty  years,  and  was  still  as  good  as 
new.  In  most  other  families  the  stoves  are  broken,  burnt- 
out,  or  thrown  aside  for  improved  patterns  every  four, 
five,  or  six  years,  and  sometimes,  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
writer,  still  oftener. 

Another  excellent  point  is  that,  although  it  is  so  com- 
plicated in  its  various  contrivances  as  to  demand  intelli- 
gent management  in  order  to  secure  all  its  advantages,  it 
also  can  be  used  satisfactorily  even  when  the  mistress  and 
maid  are  equally  careless  and  ignorant  of  its  distinctive 
merits.  To  such  it  offers  all  the  advantages  of  ordinary 
good  stoves,  and  is  extensively  used  by  those  who  take  no 
pains  to  understand  and  apply  its  peculiar  advantages. 

But  the  writer  has  managed  the  stove  herself  in  all  the 
details  of  cooking,  and  is  confident  that  any  housekeeper 
of  common  sense,  who  is  instructed  properly,  and  who  also 
aims  to  have  her  kitchen  affairs  managed  with  strict  eco- 
nomy, can  easily  train  any  servant  who  is  willing  to  learn, 
BO  as  to  gain  the  full  advantages  offered.  And  even  with- 
out any  instructions  at  all,  except  the  printed  directions 
sent  with  the  stove,  an  intelligent  woman  can,  by  due 
attention,  though  not  without,  both  manage  it,  and  teach 
her  children  and  servants  to  do  likewise.  And  whenever 
this  stove  has  failed  to  give  the  highest  satisfaction,  it  has 
been,  either  because  the  housekeeper  was  not  apprized  of 
its  peculiarities,  or  because  she  did  not  give  sufficient 
attention  to  the  matter,  or  was  not  able  or  willing  to  super- 
intend and  direct  its  management. 

The  consequence  has  been  that,  in  families  where  this 
stove  has  been  understood  and  managed  aright,  it  has 
saved  nearly  one  half  of  the  fuel  that  would  be  used  in  ordi- 


76  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

nary  stoves,  constructed  with  the  usual  disregard  of  scien- 
tific and  economic  laws.  And  it  is  because  we  know  this 
particular  stove  to  be  convenient,  reliable,  and  economi- 
cally efficient  beyond  ordinary  experience,  in  the  important 
housekeeping  element  of  kitchen  labor,  that  we  devote  to 
it  so  much  space  and  pains  to  describe  its  advantageous 
points. 

CHIMNEYS. 

One  of  the  most  serious  evils  in  domestic  life  is  often 
found  in  chimneys  that  will  not  properly  draw  the  smoke 
of  a  fire  or  stove.  Although  chimneys  have  been  building 
for  a  thousand  years,  the  artisans  of  the  present  day  seem 
strangely  ignorant  of  the  true  method  of  constructing  them 
so  as  always  to  carry  smoke  upward  instead  of  downward. 
It  is  rarely  the  case  that  a  large  house  is  built  in  which 
there  is  not  some  flue  or  chimney  which  "  will  not  draw." 
One  of  the  reasons  why  the  stove  described  as  excelling  all 
others  is  sometimes  cast  aside  for  a  poorer  one  is,  that  it 
requires  a  properly  constructed  chimney,  and  multitudes 
of  women  do  not  know  how  to  secure  it.  The  writer  in 
early  life  shed  many  a  bitter  tear,  drawn  forth  by  smoke 
from  an  ill-constructed  kitchen-chimney,  and  thousands 
all  over  the  land  can  report  the  same  experience. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  causes  and  the  remedies 
for  this  evil. 

The  most  common  cause  of  poor  chimney  draughts  is  too 
large  an  opening  for  the  fireplace,  either  too  wide  or  too 
high  in  front,  or  having  too  large  a  throat  for  the  smoke. 
In  a  lower  story,  the  fireplace  should  not  be  larger  than 
thfrty  inches  wide,  twenty-five  inches  high,  and  fifteen  deep. 
In  the  story  above,  it  should  be  eighteen  inches  square  and 
fifteen  inches  deep. 

Another  cause  is  too  short  a  flue,  and  the  remedy  is  to 
lengthen  it.  As  a  general  rule,  the  longer  the  flue  the 
stronger  the  draught.  But  in  calculating  the  length  of  a 


STOVES,    FURNACES,   AND    CHIMNEYS.  77 

flue,  reference  .mist  be  had  to  side-flues,  if  any  open  into  it. 
Where  this  is  the  case,  the  length  of  the  main  flue  is  to  be 
considered  as  extending  only  from  the  bottom  to  the  point 
where  the  upper  flue  joins  it,  and  where  the  lower  will 
receive  air  from  the  upper  flue.  If  a  smoky  flue  can  not 
be  increased  in  ^ength,  either  by  closing  an  upper  flue  or 
lengthening  the  chimney,  the  fireplace  must  be  contracted 
so  that  all  the  air  near  the  fire  will  be  heated  and  thus 
pressed  upward. 

If  a  flue  has  more  than  one  opening,  in  some  cases  it  is 
impossible  to  secure  a  good  draught.  Sometimes  it  will 
work  well  and  sometimes  it  will  not.  The  only  safe  rule  is 
to  have  a  separate  flue  to  each  fire. 

Another  cause  of  poor  draughts  is  too  tight  a  room,  so 
that  the  cold  air  from  without  can  not  enter  to  press  the 
warm  air  up  the  chimney.  The  remedy  is  to  admit  a  small 
current  of  air  from  without. 

Another  cause  is  two  chimneys  in  one  room,  or  in  rooms 
opening  together,  in  which  the  draught  in  one  is  much 
stronger  than  in  the  other.  In  this  case,  the  stronger 
draught  will  draw  away  from  the  weaker.  The  remedy  is, 
for  each  room  to  have  a  proper  supply  of  outside  air ;  or, 
in  a  single  room,  to  stop  one  of  the  chimneys. 

Another  cause  is  the  too  close  vicinity  of  a  hill  or  build- 
ings higher  than  the  top  of  the  chimney,  and  the  remedy 
for  this  is  to  raise  the  chimney. 

Another  cause  is  the  descent,  into  unused  fireplaces,  of 
smoke  from  other  chimneys  near.  The  remedy  is  to  close 
the  throat  of  the  unused  chimney. 

Another  cause  is  a  door  opening  toward  the  fireplace, 
on  the  same  side  of  the  room,  so  that  its  draught  passes 
along  the  wall  and  makes  a  Current  that  draws  out  the 
smoke.  The  remedy  is  to  change  the  hanging  of  the  door 
so  as  to  open  another  way. 

Another  cause  is  strong  winds.  The  remedy  is  a  turn- 
cap  on  top  of  the  chimney. 


78  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Another  cause  is  the  roughness  of  the  inside  of  a  chim- 
ney, or  projections  which  impede  the  passage  of  the  smoke. 
Every  chimney  should  be  built  of  equal  dimensions  from 
bottom  to  top,  with  no  projections  into  it,  with  as  few  bends 
as  possible,  and  with  the  surface  of  the  inside  as  smooth 
as  possible. 

Another  cause  of  poor  draughts  is  openings  into  the 
chimney  of  chambers  for  stove-pipes.  The  remedy  is  to 
close  them,  or  insert  stove-pipes  that  are  in  use. 

Another  cause  is  the  falling  out  of  brick  in  some  part  of 
the  chimney  so  that  outer  air  is  admitted.  The  remedy  is 
to  close  the  opening. 

The  draught  of  a  stove  may  be  affected  by  most  of  these 
causes.  It  also  demands  that  the  fireplace  have  a  tight 
fire-board,  or  that  the  throat  be  carefully  filled.  For  neg- 
lecting this,  many  a  good  stove  has  been  thrown  aside  and 
a  poor  one  taken  in  its  place. 

If  all  young  women  had  committed  to  memory  these 
causes  of  evil  and  their  remedies,  many  a  badly-built  chim- 
ney might  have  been  cured,  and  many  smoke-drawn  tears, 
sighs,  ill-tempers,  and  irritating  words  avoided. 

But  there  are  dangers  in  this  direction  wliieh  demand 
special  attention.  Where  one  flue  has  two  stoves  or  fire- 
places, in  rooms  one  above  the  other,  in  certain  states  of  the 
atmosphere,  the  lower  room,  being  the  warmer,  the  colder 
air  and  carbonic  acid  in  the  room  above  will  pass  down  into 
the  lower  room  through  the  opening  for  the  stove  or  the 
fireplace. 

This  occurred  not  long  since  in  a  boarding-school,  when 
the  gas  in  a  room  above  flowed  into  a  lower  one,  and  suffo- 
cated several  to  death.  This  room  had  no  mode  of  venti- 
lation, and  several  persons  slept  in  it,  and  were  thus  sti- 
fled. Professor  Brewer  states  a  similar  case  in  the  family 
of  a  relative.  An  anthracite  stove  was  used  in  the  upper 
room ;  and  qn  one  still,  close  night,  the  gas  from  this  stove 
descended  through  the  flue  and  the  opening  into  a  room  below, 


STOVES,  FURNACES,  AND   CHIMNEYS.  79 

and  stifled  two  persons  to  insensibility,  though,  by  proper 
efforts,  their  lives  were  saved.  Many  such  cases  have  oc- 
rirred  where  rooms  have  been  thus  filled  with  poisonous 
gases,  and  servants  and  children  destroyed,  or  their  consti- 
tutions injured,  simply  because  housekeepers  are  not  pro- 
perly instructed  in  this  important  branch  of  their  profession. 

FUKNACES. 

There  is  no  improved  mechanism  in  the  economy  of 
domestic  life  requiring  more  intelligent  management  than 
furnaces.  Let  us  then  consider  some  of  the  principles  in- 
volved. 

The  earth  is  heated  by  radiation  from  the  sun.  The  air 
is  not  warmed  by  the  passage  of  the  sun's  heat  through  it, 
but  by  convection  from  the  earth,  in  the  same  way  that  it 
is  warmed  by  the  surfaces  of  stoves.  The  lower  stratum 
of  air  is  warmed  by  the  earth  and  by  objects  which  have 
been  warmed  by  radiated  heat  from  the  sun.  The  par- 
ticles of  air  thus  heated  expand,  become  lighter,  and  rise, 
being  replaced  by  the  descent  of  the  cooler  and  heavier 
particles  from  above,  which,  on  being  warmed  also  rise, 
and  give  place  to  others.  Owing  to  this  process,  the  air 
is  warmest  nearest  the  earth,  and  grows  cooler  as  height 
increases. 

The  air  has  a  strong  attraction  for  water,  and  always 
holds  a  certain  quantity  as  invisible  vapor.  The  warmer 
the  air,  the  more  moisture  it  demands,  and  it  will  draw  it 
from  all  objects  within  reach.  The  air  holds  water  accord- 
ing to  its  temperature.  Thus,  at  fifty-two  legrees,  Fah- 
renheit's thermometer,  it  holds  half  the  moisture  it  can 
sustain  ;  but  at  thirty-six  degrees,  it  will  hold  only  one 
eighty-sixth  part.  The  earth  and  all  plants  and  trees  are 
constantly  sending  out  moisture ;  and  when  the  air  has  re- 
ceived all  it  can  hold,  without  depositing  it  as  dew,  it  is 
said  to  be  saturated,  and  the  point  of  temperature  at  which 


80  THE  AMERICAN   WOMArfS  HOME. 

dew  begins  to  form,  by  condensation,  upon  the  surface 
of  the  earth  and  its  vegetation,  is  called  the  dew-point. 
When  air,  at  a  given  temperature,  has  only  forty  per  cent 
of  the  moisture  it  requires  for  saturation,  it  is  said  to  be 
dry.  In  a  hot  summer  day,  the  air  will  hold  far  more 
moisture  than  in  cool  days.  In  summer,  out-door  air 
rarely  holds  less  than  half  its  volume  of  water.  In  1838, 
at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  and  New-Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, at  seventy  degrees,  Fahrenheit,  the  air  held  eighty  per 
cent  of  moisture. 

In  New-Orleans,  the  air  often  retains  ninety  per  cent  of 
the  moisture  it  is  capable  of  holding ;  and  in  cool  days  at 
the  North,  in  foggy  weather,  the  air  is  sometimes  wholly 
saturated. 

When  air  holds  all  the  moisture  it  can,  without  deposit- 
ing dew,  its  moisture  is  called  100.  When  it  holds  three 
fourths  of  this,  it  is  said  to  be  at  seventy-five  per  cent. 
When  it  holds  only  one  half,  it  is  at  fifty  per  cent.  When 
it  holds  only  one  fourth,  it  is  at  twenty-five  per 
cent,  etc. 

Sanitary  observers  teach  that  the  proper  amount  of  mois- 
ture in  the  air  ranges  from  forty  to  seventy  per  cent  of 
saturation. 

Now,  furnaces,  which  are  of  course  used  only  in  winter, 
receive  outside  air  at  a  low  temperature,  holding  little 
moisture ;  and  heating  it  greatly  increases  its  demand  for 
moisture.  This  it  sucks  up,  like  a  sponge,  from  the  walls 
and  furniture  of  a  house.  If  it  is  taken  into  the  human 
lungs,  it  draws  much  of  its  required  moisture  from  the  body, 
often  causing  dryness  of  lips  and  throat,  and  painfully  af- 
fecting the  lungs.  Prof.  Brewer,  of  the  Scientific  School 
of  New-Haven,  who  has  experimented  extensively  on  this 
subject,  states  that,  while  forty  per  cent  of  moisture  is 
needed  in  air  to  make  it  healthful,  most  stoves  and  furnaces 
do  not,  by  any  contrivances,  supply  one  half  of  this,  or 
not  twenty  per  cent.  He  says  most  furnace-heated  air  is 


STOVES,   FURNACES,   AND   CHIMNEYS.  81 

dryer  than  is  ever  breathed  in  the  hottest  deserts  of  Sa- 
hara. 

Thus,  for  want  of  proper  instruction,  most  American 
housekeepers  not  only  poison  their  families  with  carbonic 
acid  and  starve  them  for  want  of  oxygen,  but  also  diminish 
health  and  comfort  for  want  of  a  due  supply  of  moisture 
in  the  air.  And  often  when  a  remedy  is  sought,  by  evapo- 
rating water  in  the  furnace,  it  is  without  knowing  that  the 
amount  evaporated  depends,  not  on  the  quantity  of  water 
in  the  vessel,  but  on  the  extent  of  evaporating  surface 
exposed  to  the  air.  A  quart  of  water  in  a  wide  shallow 
pan  will  give  more  moisture  than  two  gallons  with  a  small 
surface  exposed  to  heat. 

There  is  also  no  little  wise  economy  in  expense  attained 
by  keeping  a  proper  supply  of  moisture  in  the  air.  For 
it  is  found  that  the  body  radiates  its  heat  less  in  moist 
than  in  dry  air,  so  tljat  a  person  feels  as  warm  at  a  lower 
temperature  when  the  air  has  a  proper  supply  of  moisture, 
as  in  a  much  higher  temperature  of  dry  air.  Of  course, 
less  fuel  is  needed  to  warm  a  house  when  water  is  evapo- 
rated in  stove  and  furnace-heated  rooms.  It  is  said  by  those 
who  have  experimented,  that  the  saving  in  fuel  is  twenty 
per  cenA  when  the  air  is  duly  supplied  with  moisture. 

There  is  a  very  ingenious  instrument,  called  the  hygro- 
deik,  which  indicates  the  exact  amount  of  moisture  in  the 
air.  It  consists  of  two  thermometers  side  by  side,  one  of 
which  has  its  bulb  surrounded  by  floss-silk  wrapping,  which 
is  kept  constantly  wet  by  communication  with  a  cup  of 
water  near  it.  The  water  around  the  bulb  evaporates  just 
in  proportion  to  the  heat  of  the  air  around  it.  The  chang- 
ing of  water  to  vapor  draws  heat  from  the  nearest  object, 
and  this  being  the  bulb  of  the  thermometer,  the  mercury 
is  cooled  and  sinks.  Then  the  difference  between  the  two 
thermometers  shows  the  amount  of  moisture  in  the  air  by 
a  pointer  on  a  dial-plate  constructed  by  simple  mechanism 
for  this  purpose. 


82 

There  is  one  very  important  matter  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  furnaces,  which  is  thus  stated  by  Professor  Brewer : 

"  I  think  it  is  a  well-established  fact  that  carbonic  oxide 
will  pass  through  iron.  It  is  always  formed  in  great  abun- 
dance in  any  anthracite  fire,  but  especially  in  anthracite 
stoves  and  furnaces.  Moreover,  furnaces  always  leak,  more 
or  less;  how  much  they  leak  depending  on  the  care  and 
skill  with  which  they  are  managed.  Carbonic  oxide  is 
much  more  poisonous  than  carbonic  acid.  Doubtless  some 
carbonic  oxide  finds  its  way  into  all  furnace-heated  houses, 
especially  where  anthracite  is  used;  the  amount  varying 
with  the  kind  of  furnace  and  its  management.  As  to  how 
much  escapes  into  a  room,  and  its  specific  effect  upon  the 
health  of  its  occupants,  we  have  no  accurate  data,  no  analy- 
sis to  show  the  quantity,  and  no  observati  ns  to  show  the 
relation  between  the  quantity  inhaled  and  the  health  of 
those  exposed ;  all  is  mere  conjecture«upon  this  point ;  but 
the  inference  is  very  strong  that  it  has  a  very  injurious 
effect,  producing  headaches,  weariness,  and  other  similar 
symptoms. 

"Kecent  pamphlets  lay  the  blame  of  all  the  bad  effects 
of  anthracite  furnaces  and  stoves  to  the  carbonic  oxide  min- 
gled in  the  air.  I  think  these  pamphlets  have  a  bad  influ- 
ence. Excessive  dryness  also  has  bad  effects.  So  also  the 
excessive  heat  in  the  evenings  and  coolness  in  the  mornings 
has  a  share  in  these  evils.  But  how  much  in  addition  is 
owing  to  carbonic  oxide,  we  can  not  know,  until  we  know 
something  of  the  actual  amount  of  this  gas  in  rooms,  and 
as  yet  we  know  absolutely  nothing  definite.  In  fact,  it  will 
be  a  difficult  thing  to  prove" 

There  are  other  difficulties  connected  with  furnaces  wrhich 
should  be  considered.  It  is  necessary  to  perfect  health  that 
an  equal  circulation  of  the  blood  be  preserved.  The  great- 
est impediment  to  this  is  keeping  the  head  warmer  than  the 
feet.  This  is  especially  to  be  avoided  in  a  nation  where  the 
brain  is  by  constant  activity  drawing  the  blood  from  tho 


STOVES,   FURNACES,   AND    CHIMNEYS.  83 

extremities.  And  nowhere  is  this  more  important  than 
in  schools,  churches,  colleges,  lecture  and  recitation-rooms, 
where  the  brain  is  called  into  active  exercise.  And  yet, 
furnace-heated  rooms  always  keep  the  feet  in  the  coldest 
air,  on  cool  floors,  while  the  head  is  in  the  warmest  air. 

Another  difficulty  is  the  fact  that  all  bodies  tend  to  radi- 
ate their  heat  to  each  other,  till  an  equal  temperature  exists. 
Thus,  the  human  body  is  constantly  radiating  its  heat  to 
the  walls,  floors,  and  cooler  bodies  around.  At  the  same 
time,  a  thermometer  is  affected  in  the  same  way,  radiating 
its  heat  to  cooler  bodies  around,  so  that  it  always  marks  a 
lower  degree  of  heat  than  actually  exists  in  the  warm  air 
around  it.  Owing  to  these  facts,  the  injected  air  of  a  fur- 
nace is  always  warmer  than  is  good  for  the  lungs,  and  much 
warmer  than  is  ever  needed  in  rooms  warmed  by  radiation 
from  fires  or  heated  surfaces.  The  cooler  the  air  we  inspire, 
the  more  oxygen  is  received,  the  faster  the  blood  circulates, 
and  the  greater  is  the  vigor  imparted  to  brain,  nerves,  and 
muscles. 

Scientific  men  have  been  contriving  various  modes  of 
meeting  these  difficulties,  and  at  the  close  of  this  volume 
some  results  will  be  given  to  aid  a  woman  in  selecting  and 
managing  the  most  healthful  and  economical  furnace,  or  in 
providing  some  better  method  of  warming  a  house.  Some 
account  will  also  be  given  of  the  danger  involved  in  gas- 
stoves,  and  some  other  recent  inventions  for  cooking  and 
heating. 


VI. 


HOME   DECORATION. 

HAVING  duly  arranged  for  the  physical  necessities  of  a 
healthful  and  comfortable  home,  we  next  approach  the 
important  subject  of  beauty  in  reference  to  the  deco- 
ration of  houses.  For  while  the  aesthetic  element  must  be 
subordinate  to  the  requirements  of  physical  existence,  and, 
as  a  matter  of  expense,  should  be  held  of  inferior  con- 
sequence to  means  of  higher  moral  growth ;  it  yet  holds 
a  place  of  great  significance  among  the  influences  which 
make  home  happy  and  attractive,  which  give  it  a  constant 
and  wholesome  power  over  the  young,  and  contributes 
much  to  the  education  of  the  entire  household  in  refine- 
ment, intellectual  development,  and  moral  sensibility. 

Here  we  are  met  by  those  who  tell  us  that  of  course 
they  want  their  houses  handsome,  and  that,  when  they 
get  money  enough,  they  intend  to  have  them  so,  but  at 
present  they  are  too  poor,  and  because  they  are  poor 
they  dismiss  the  subject  altogether,  and  live  without  any 
regard  to  it. 

We  have  often  seen  people  who  said  that  they  could  not 
afford  to  make  their  houses  beautiful,  who  had  spent  upon 
them,  outside  or  in,  an  amount  of  money  which  did  not 
produce  either  beauty  or  comfort,  and  which,  if  judiciously 
applied,  might  have  made  the  house  quite  charming. 

For  example,  a  man,  in  building  his  house,  takes  a  plan 
of  an  architect.  This  plan  includes,  on  the  outside,  a 
number  of  what  Andrew  Fairservice  called  "  curlywur- 


HOME  DECORATION.  85 

lies"  and  "  whigmaliries,"  which  make  the  house  neither 
prettier  nor  more  comfortable,  and  which  take  up  a  good 
deal  of  money.  We  would  venture  to  say  that  we  could 
buy  the  chromo  of  Bierstadt's  "  Sunset  in  the  Yo  Semite 
Valley,"  and  four  others  like  it,  for  half  the  sum  that 
we  have  sometimes  seen  laid  out  on  a  very  ugly,  nar- 
row, awkward  porch  on  the  outside  of  a  house.  The 
only  use  of  this  porch  was  to  cost  money,  and  to  cause 
every  body  who  looked  at  it  to  exclaim  as  they  went  by, 
"What  ever  induced  that  man  to  put  a  thing  like  that 
on  the  outside  of  his  house  ?" 

Then,  again,  in  the  inside  of  houses,  we  have  seen  a 
dwelling  looking  very  bald  and  bare,  when  a  sufficient 
sum  of  money  had  been  expended  on  one  article  to  have 
made  the  whole  very  pretty :  and  it  has  come  about  in  this 
way. 

We  will  suppose  the  couple  who  own  the  house  to  be  in 
the  condition  in  which  people  generally  are  after  they 
have  built  a  house — having  spent  more  than  they  could 
afford  on  the  building  itself,  and  yet  feeling  themselves 
under  the  necessity  of  getting  some  furniture. 

"  Now,"  says  the  housewife,  "  I  must  at  least  have  a 
parlor-carpet.  We  must  get  that  to  begin  with,  and  other 
things  as  we  go  on."  She  goes  to  a  store  to  look  at  carpets. 
The  clerks  are  smiling  and  obliging,  and  sweetly  compla- 
cent. The  storekeeper,  perhaps,  is  a  neighbor  or  a  friend, 
and  after  exhibiting  various  patterns,  he  tells  her  of  a 
Brussels  carpet  he  is  selling  wonderfully  cheap — actually  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter  less  a  yard  than  the  usual  price  01 
Brussels,  and  the  reason  is  that  it  is  an  unfashionable  pat- 
tern, and  he  has  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  wishes  to  close  it  off. 

She  looks  at  it  and  thinks  it  is  not  at  all  the  kind  of  car- 
pet she  meant  to  buy,  but  then  it  is  Brussels,  and  so  cheap ' 
And  as  she  hesitates,  her  friend  tells  her  that  she  will  find 
it  "  cheapest  in  the  end — that  one  Brussels  carpet  will  out- 
last three  or  four  ingrains,"  etc.,  etc. 


86  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

I 

The  result  of  all  this  is,  that  she  buys  the  Brussels  carpet, 
which,  with  all  its  reduction  in  price,  is  one  third  dearer 
than  the  ingrain  would  have  been,  and  not  half  so  pretty. 
When  she  comes  home,  she  will  find  that  she  has  spent,  we 
will  say  eighty  dollars,  for  a  very-  homely  carpet  whose 
greatest  merit  it  is  an  affliction  to  remember — namely,  that 
it  will  outlast  three  ordinary  carpets.  And  because  she 
has  bought  this  carpet  she  can  not  afford  to  paper  the  walls 
or  put  up  any  window-curtains,  and  cannot  even  begin  to 
think  of  buying  any  pictures. 

Now  let  us  see  what  eighty  dollars  could  have  done  for 
that  room.  "We  will  suppose,  in  the  first  place,  she  invests 
in  thirteen  rolls  of  wall-paper  of  a  lovely  shade  of  buff, 
which  will  make  the  room  look  sunshiny  in  the  day-time, 
and  light  up  brilliantly  in  the  evening.  Thirteen  rolls  of 
good  satin  paper,  at  thirty-seven  cents  a  roll,  expends  four 
dollars  and  eighty-one  cents.  A  maroon  bordering,  made 
in  imitation  of  the  choicest  French  style,  which  can  not  at 
a  distance  be  told  from  it,  can  be  bought  for  six  cents  a 
yard.  This  will  bring  the  paper  to  about  five  dollars  and 
a  half;  and  our  friends  will  give  a  day  of  their  time  to 
putting  it  on.  The  room  already  begins  to  look  furnished. 

Then,  let  us  cover  the  floor  with,  say,  thirty  yards  of 
good  matting,  at  fifty  cents  a  yard.  This  gives  us  a  carpet 
for  fifteen  dollars.  We  are  here  stopped  by  the  prejudice 
that  matting  is  not  good  economy,  because  it  wears  out  so 
soon.  We  humbly  submit  that  it  is  precisely  the  thing  for 
a  parlor,  which  is  reserved  for  the  reception-room  of 
friends,  and  for  our  own  dressed  leisure  hours.  Matting  is 
not  good  economy  in  a  dining-room  or  a  hard-worn  sitting- 
room  ;  but  such  a  parlor  as  we  are  describing  is  precisely 
the  place  where  it  answers  to  the  very  best  advantage. 

We  have  in  mind  one  very  attractive  parlor  which  has 
been,  both  for  summer  and  winter,  the  daily  sitting-room 
for  the  leisure  hours  of  a  husband  and  wife,  and  family 
of  children,  where  a  plain  straw  matting  has  done  ser- 


HOME  DECORATION.  87 

vice  for  seven  years.  That  parlor  is  in  a  city,  and  these 
friends  are  in  the  habit  of  receiving  visits  from  people  who 
live  upon  velvet  and  Brusssls ;  but  they  prefer  to  spend  the 
money  which  such  carpets  would  cost  on  other  modes  of 
embellishment ;  and  this  parlor  has  often  been  cited  to  us 
as  a  very  attractive  room. 

And  now  our  friends,  having  got  thus  far,  are  requested 
to  select  some  one  tint  or  color  which  shall  be  the  prevail- 
ing one  in  the  furniture  of  the  room.  Shall  it  be  green  ? 
Shall  it  be  blue  ?  Shall  it  be  crimson  ?  To  carry  on  our 
illustration,  we  will  choose  green,  and  we  proceed  with  it 
to  create  furniture  for  our  room.  Let  us  imagine  that  on 
one  side  of  the  fireplace  there  be,  as  there  is  often,  a  recess 
about  six  feet  long  and  three  feet  deep.  Fill  this  recess 
with  a  rough  frame  with  four  stout  legs,  one  foot  high,  and 
upon  the  top  of  the  frame  have  an  elastic  rack  of  slats. 
Make  a  mattress  for  this,  or,  if  you  wish  to  avoid  that  trou- 
ble, you  can  get  a  nice  mattress  for  the  sum  of  two  dollars, 
made  of  cane-shavings  or  husks.  Cover  this  with  a  green 
English  furniture  print.  The  glazed  English  comes  at 
about  twenty-five  cents  a  yard,  the  glazed  French  at 
seventy-five  cents  a  yard,  and  a  nice  article  of  yard-wide 
French  twill  (very  strong)  is  from  seventy-five  to  eighty 
cents  a  yard. 

With  any  of  these  cover  your  lounge.  Make  two  large, 
square  pillows  of  the  same  substance  as  the  mattress,  and 
set  up  at  the  back.  If  you  happen  to  have  one  or  two 
feather  pillows  that  you  can  spare  for  the  purpose,  shake 
them  down  into  a  square  shape  and  cover  them  with  the 
same  print,  and  you  will  then  have  four  pillows  for  your 
lounge — one  at  each  end,  and  two  at  the  back,  and  you 
will  find  it  answers  for  all  the  purposes  of  a  sofa. 

It  will  be  a  very  pretty  thing,  now,  to  cut  out  of  the 
same  material  as  your  lounge,  sets  of  lambrequins  (or,  as 
they  are  called,  lamberkins,)  a  kind  of  pendent  curtain-top, 
as  shown  in  the  illustration,  to  put  over  the  windows, 


88 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


which  are  to  be  embellished  with  white  muslin  curtains. 
The  cornices  to  your  windows  can  be  simply  strips  of 
wood  covered  with  paper  to  match  the  bordering  of  your 

room,  and  the 
lambrequins, 
made  of  chintz 
like  the  lounge, 
can  be  trimmed 
with  fringe  or 
gimp  of  the  same 
color.  The  pat- 
terns of  these  can 
be  varied  accord- 
ing to  fancy,  but 
simple  designs 
are"  usually  the 
prettiest.  A  tas- 
sel at  the  lowest 
point  improves 
the  appearance. 

The     curtains 
can  be  made  of 

plain  white  muslin,  or  some  of  the  many  styles  that  come  for 
this  purpose.  If  plain  muslin  is  used,  you  can  ornament 
them  with  hems  an  inch  in  width,  in  which  insert  a  strip  of 
gingham  or  chambray  of  the  same  color  as  your  chintz. 
This  will  wash  with  the  curtains  without  losing  its  color,  or 
should  it  fade,  it  can  easily  be  drawn  out  and  replaced. 

The  influence  of  white-muslin  curtains  in  giving  an  air 
of  grace  and  elegance  to  a  room  is  astonishing.  White 
curtains  really  create  a  room  out  of  nothing.  'No  matter 
how  coarse  the  muslin,  so  it  be  white  and  hang  in  graceful 
folds,  there  is  a  charm  in  it  that  supplies  the  want  of  mul- 
titudes of  other  things. 

Yery  pretty  curtain-muslin  can  be  bought  at  thirty- 
seven  cents  a  yard.  It  requires  six  yards  for  a  window. 


HOME  DECORATION. 


89 


Let  your  men-folk  knock  up  for  you,  out  of  rough,  un- 
planed  boards,  some  ottoman  frames,  as  described  in  Chap- 
ter II. ;  stuff  the  tops  with  just  the  same  material  as  the 
lounge,  and  cover  them  with  the  self-same  chintz. 

Now  you 
have,  sup- 
pose your 
selected 
color  to 
be  green, 
a  green 
lounge  in 
the  corner 
and  two 
green  otto- 
mans; you 
have  white 
muslin  cur- 
tains, with 
green  lam- 
brequins 

and  borders,  and  your  room  already  looks  furnished. 
If  you  have  in  the  house  any  broken-down  arm-chair,  re- 
posing in  the  oblivion  of  the  garret,  draw  it  out — drive  a 
nail  here  and  there  to  hold  it  firm — stuff  and  pad,  and 
stitch  the  padding  through  with  a  long  upholsterer's  nee- 
dle, and  cover  it  with  the  chintz  like  your  other  furni- 
ture. Presto — you  create  an  easy-chair. 

Thus  can  broken  and  disgraced  furniture  reappear,  and, 
being  put  into  uniform  with  the  general  suit  of  your 
room,  takeva  new  lease  of  life. 

If  you  want  a  centre-table,  consider  this — that  any  kind 
of  table,  well  concealed  beneath  the  folds  of  handsome 
drapery •,  of  a  color  corresponding  to  the  general  hue  of  the  room, 
will  look  well.  Instead  of  going  to  the  cabinet-maker  and 
paying  from  thirty  to  forty  dollars  upon  a  little,  narrow, 


90  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

cold,  marble-topped  stand,  that  gives  just  room  enough  tc 
hold  a  lamp  and  a  book  or  two,  reflect  within  yourself 
what  a  centre-table  is  made  for.  If  you  have  in  your 
house  a  good,  broad,  generous-topped  table,  take  it,  cover 
it  with  an  ample  cloth  of  green  broadcloth.  Such  a  cover, 
two  and  a  half  yards  square,  of  fine  green  broadcloth, 
figured  with  black  and  with  a  pattern-border  of  grape- 
leaves,  has  been  bought  for  ten  dollars.  In  a  room  we  wot 
of,  it  covers  a  cheap  pine  table,  such  as  you  may  buy  for 
four  or  five  dollars  any  day ;  but  you  will  be  astonished 
to  see  how  handsome  an  object  this  table  makes  under  its 
green  drapery.  Probably  you  could  make  the  cover  more 
cheaply  by  getting  the  cloth  and  trimming  its  edge  with  a 
handsome  border,  selected  for  the  purpose ;  but  either  way, 
it  will  be  an  economical  and  useful  ornament.  We  set 
down  our  centre-table,  therefore,  as  consisting  mainly  of  a 
nice  broadcloth  cover,  matching  our  curtains  and  lounge. 

We  are  sure  that  any  one  with  "  a  heart  that  is  hum- 
ble" may  command  such  a  centre-table  and  cloth  for  fif- 
teen dollars  or  less,  and  a  family  of  five  or  six  may  all  sit 
and  work,  or  read,  or  write  around  it,  and  it  is  capable  of 
entertaining  a  generous  allowance  of  books  and  knick- 
knacks. 

You  have  now  for  your  parlor  the  following  figures : 

Wall-paper  and  border, $5  50 

Thirty  yards  matting, 15  00 

Centre-table  and  cloth, . , 15  00 

Muslin  for  three  windows, 6  75 

Thirty  yards  green  English  chintz,  at  25  cents, 7  50 

Six  chairs,  at  $2  each, 12  00 

Total, $61  75 

Subtracted  from  eighty  dollars,  which  we  set  down  as 
the  price  of  the  cheap,  ugly  Brussels  carpet,  we  have  our 
whole  room  papered,  carpeted,  curtained,  and  furnished, 
and  we  have  nearly  twenty  dollars  remaining  for  pictures. 


HOME  DECORATION. 


91 


Fig.  40. 


As  a  little  suggestion  in  regard  to  the  selection,  you  can 
get  Miss  Oakley's  charming  little  cabinet  picture  of 

"The  Little  Scrap-Book  Maker"  for $V  50 

Eastman  Johnson's  "  Barefoot  Boy," (Prang)     5  00 

Newman's  "  Blue-fringed  Gentians," (Prang)     6  00 

Bierstadt's  "  Sunset  in  the  Yo  Semite  Valley," (Prang)  12  00 

Here  are  thirty  dollars'  worth  of  really  admirable 
pictures  of  some  of  our  best  American  artists,  from 
which  you  can  choose  at  your  leisure.  By  sending  to  any 
leading  picture-dealer,  lists  of  pictures  and  prices  will  be 
forwarded  to  you.  These  chromos,  being  all  varnished, 
can  wait  for  frames  until  you  can  aiford  them.  Or,  what 
is  better,  because  it  is  at  once  cheaper  and  a  means  of  edu- 
cating the  ingenuity  and  the  taste,  you  can  make  for  your- 
selves pretty  rustic  frames  in  various  modes.  Take  a  very 

thin  board,  of  the  right  size  and 
shape,  for  the  foundation  or 
"  mat ;"  saw  out  the  inner  oval 
or  rectangular  form  to  suit  the 
picture.'  Nail  on  the  edge  a  rustic 
frame  made  of  branches  of  hard, 
seasoned  wood,  and  garnish  the 
corners  with  some  pretty  device ; 
such,  for  instance,  as  a  cluster  of 
acorns ;  or,  in  place  of  the  branch- 
es of  trees,  fasten  on  with  glue 

small  pine  cones,  with  larger  ones  for  corner  ornaments. 
Or  use  the  mosses  of  the  wood  or  Fis-  41- 

ocean  shells  for  this  purpose.  It 
may  be  more  convenient  to  get  the 
mat  or  inner  moulding  from  a 
framer,  or  have  it  made  by  your 
carpenter,  with  a  groove  behind  to 
hold  a  glass.  Here  are  also  picture- 
frames  of  pretty  effect,  and  very 
simply  made.  The  one  in  Fig.  42 


92 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  43. 


is  made  of  either  light  or  dark  wood,  neat,  thin,  and  not 

very  wide,  with  the  ends  simply  broken  off,  or  cut  so  as  to 

resemble  a  rough 
break.  The  other 
is  white  pine,  sawn 
into  simple  form, 
well  smoothed,  and 
marked  with  a  deli- 
cate black  tracery, 
as  suggested  in  Fig. 
43.  This  should 
also  be  varnished, 
then  it  will  take  a 
rich,  yellow  tinge, 
which  harmonizes 
admirably  with 
chromos,  and  light- 
ens up  engravings 
to  singular  advan- 
tage. Besides  the 

American   and   the  higher  range  of  German  and  Eng- 
lish chromos,  there  are  very  many  pretty  little  French 

chromos,  which  can  be  had  at 

prices  from  $1  to  $5,  including 

black  walnut  frames. 

We  have  been  through  this 

calculation  merely  to  show  our 

readers    how    much     beautiful 

effect  may  be   produced  by  a 

wise   disposition    of  color    and 

skill  in  arrangement.      If  any 

of  our  friends  should  ever  carry 

it  out,  they  will  find  that  the 

buff  paper,  with  its  dark,  narrow  border ;  the  green  chintz 

repeated  in  the  lounge,  the  ottomans,  and  lambrequins; 

the  flowing,  white  curtains;  the  broad,  generous  centre- 


Fig.  43. 


HOME  DECORATION.  93 

table,  draped  with  its  ample  green  cloth,  will,  when  ar- 
ranged together,  produce  an  effect  of  grace  and  beauty 
far  beyond  what  any  one  piece  or  even  half  a  dozen  pieces 
of  expensive  cabinet  furniture  could.  The  great,  simple 
principle  of  beauty  illustrated  in  this  room  is  harmony  of 
color. 

You  can,  in  the  same  way,  make  a  red"  room  by  using 
Turkey  red  for  your  draperies ;  or  a  blue  room  by  using 
blue  chintz.  Let  your  chintz  be  of  a  small  pattern,  and 
one  that  is  decided  in  color. 

We  have  given  the  plan  of  a  room  with  matting  on  the 
floor  because  that  is  absolutely  the  cheapest  cover.  The 
price  of  thirty  yards  plain,  good  ingrain  carpet,  at  $1.50 
per  yard,  would  be  forty-five  dollars;  the  difference  be- 
tween forty-five  and  fifteen  dollars  would  furnish  a  room 
with  pictures  such  as  we  have  instanced.  However,  the 
same  programme  can  be  even  better  carried  out  with  a 
green  ingrain  carpet  as  the  foundation  of  the  color  of  the 
room. 

Our  friends,  who  lived  seven  years  upon  matting,  con- 
trived to  give  their  parlor  in  winter  an  effect  of  warmth 
and  color  by  laying  down,  in  front  of  the  fire,  a  large 
square  of  carpeting,  say  three  breadths,  four  yards  long. 
This  covered  the  gathering-place  around  the  fire  where  the 
winter  circle  generally  sits,  and  gave  an  appearance  of 
warmth  to  the  room. 

If  we  add  this  piece  of  carpeting  to  the  estimates  for 
our  room,  we  still  leave  a  margin  for  a  picture,  and  make 
the  programme  equally  adapted  to  summer  and  winter. 

Besides  the  chromos,  which,  when  well  selected  and  of  the 
best  class,  give  the  charm  of  color  which  belongs  to  expen- 
sive paintings,  there  are  engravings  which  finely  reproduce 
much  of  the  real  spirit  and  beauty  of  the  celebrated  pic- 
tures of  the  world.  And  even  this  does  not  exhaust  the 
resources  of  economical  art ;  for  there  are  few  of  the 
renowned  statues,  whether  of  antiquity  or  of  modern  times, 


04  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAtfS  HOME. 

that  have  not  been  accurately  copied  in  plaster  casts ;  and 
a  few  statuettes,  costing  perhaps  five  or  six  dollars  each, 
will  give  a  really  elegant  finish  to  your  rooms — providing 
always  that  they  are  selected  with  discrimination  and 
taste. 

The  educating  influence  of  these  works  of  art  can  hardly 
be  over-estimate^.  Surrounded  by  such  suggestions  of  the 
beautiful,  and  such  reminders  of  history  and  art,  children 
are  constantly  trained  to  correctness  of  taste  and  refine- 
ment of  thought,  and  stimulated — s'ometimes  to  efforts  at 
artistic  imitation,  always  to  the  eager  and  intelligent  in- 
quiry about  the  scenes,  the  places,  the  incidents  represented. 

Just  here,  perhaps,  we  are  met  by  some  who  grant  all 
that  we  say  on  the  subject  of  decoration  by  works  of  art, 
and  who  yet  impatiently  exclaim,  "  But  I  have  no  money 
to  spare  for  any  thing  of  this  sort.  I  am  condemned  to  an 
absolute  bareness,  and  beauty  in  my  case  is  not  to  be 
thought  of." 

Are  you  sure,  my  friend  ?  If  you  live  in  the  country,  or 
can  get  into  the  country,  and  have  your  eyes  opened  and 
your  wits  about  you,  your  house  need  not  be  condemned 
to  an  absolute  bareness.  Not  so  long  as  the  woods  are 
full  of  beautiful  ferns  and  mosses,  while  every  swamp 
shakes  and  nods  with  tremulous  grasses,  need  you  feel 
yourself  an  utterly  disinherited  child  of  nature,  and  de- 
prived of  its  artistic  use. 

For  example :  Take  an  old  tin  pan  condemned  to  the 
retired  list  by  reason  of  holes  in  the  bottom,  get  twenty-five 
cents'  worth  of  green  paint  for  this  and  other  purposes,  and 
paint  it.  The  holes  in  the  bottom  are  a  recommendation 
for  its  new  service.  If  there  are  no  holes,  you  must  drill 
two  or  three,  as  .drainage  is  essential.  Now  put  a  layer 
one  inch  deep  of  broken  charcoal  and  potsherds  over  the 
bottom,  and  then  soil,  in  the  following  proportions  : 

Two  fourths  wood-soil,  such  as  you  find  in  forests,  under 
trees. 


HOME  DECORATION. 


95 


One  fourth  clean  sand. 

One  fourth  meadow-soil,  taken  from  under  fresh  turf. 
Mix  with  this  some  charcoal  dust. 

In  this  soil  plant  all  sorts  of  ferns,  together  with  some 
few  swamp-grasses ;  and  around  the  edge  put  a  border  of 
money-plant  or  periwinkle  to  hang  over.  This  will  need 
to  be  watered  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  it  will  grow  and 
thrive  all  summer  long  in  a  corner  of  your  room.  Should 
you  prefer,  you  can  suspend  it  by  wires  and  make  a  hang- 
ing-basket. Ferns  and  wood-grasses  need  not  have  sun- 
shine— they  grow  well  in  shadowy  places. 

On  this  same  principle  you  can  convert  a  salt-box  or  an 
old  drum  of  figs  into  a  hanging-basket.  Tack  bark  and 
pine-cones  and  moss  upon  the  outside?  of  it,  drill  holes  and 
pass  wires  through  it,  and  you  have  a  woodland  hanging- 
basket,  which  will  hang  and  grow  in  any  corner  of  your 
house. 

We  have  been  into  rooms  which,  by  the  simple  disposi- 
tion of  articles  of  this  kind,  have  been  made  to  have  an  air 

so  poetical  and  attractive 

•pu          *j 

that  they  seemed  more 
like  a  nymph's  cave  than 
any  thing  in  the  real 
world. 

Another  mode  of  dispo- 
sing of  ferns  is  this :  Take 
a  flat  piece  of  board  sawed 
out  something  like  a 
shield,  with  a  hole  at  the 
top  for  hanging  it  up. 

Upon  the  board  nail  a 
wire  pocket  made  of  an 
ox-muzzle  flattened  on 
one  side;  or  make  some- 
thing of  the  kind  with  stiff  wire.  Line  this  with  a 
sheet  of  close  moss,  which  appears  green  behind  the  wire 


96  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN"*  S  HOME. 


net-  work.  Theii  you  fill  it  with  loose,  spongy  moss,  such 
as  you  find  in  swamps,  and  plant  therein  great  plumes 
of  fern  and  various  swamp-grasses  ;  they  will  continue  to 
grow  there,  and  hang  gracefully  over.  When  watering, 
set  a  pail  under  for  it  to  drip  into.  It  needs  only  to  keep 
this  moss  always  damp,  and  to  sprinkle  these  ferns  occa- 
sionally with  a  whisk-broom,  to  have  a  most  lovely  orna- 
ment for  your  room  or  hall. 

The  use  of  ivy  in  decorating  a  room  is  beginning  to  be 
generally  acknowledged.  It  needs  to  be  planted  in  the 
kind  of  soil  we  have  described,  in  a  well-drained  pot  or 
box,  and  to  have  its  leaves  thoroughly  washed  once  or 
twice  a  year  in  strong  suds  made  with  soft-soap,  to  free  it 
from  dust  and  scale-bug;  and  an  ivy  will  live  and  thrive 
and  wind  about  in  a  room,  year  in  arid  year  out,  will  grow 
around  pictures,  and  do  almost  any  thing  to  oblige  you  that 
you  can  suggest  to  it.  For  instance,  in  a  March  number  of 
Hearth  and  Home*  there  is  a  picture  of  the  most  delightful 
library-window  imaginable,  whose  chief  charm  consists  in 
the  running  vines  that  start  from  a  longitudinal  box  at  the 
bottom  of  the  window,  and  thence  clamber  up  and  about 
the  casing  and  across  the  rustic  frame-work  erected  for  its 
convenience.  On  the  opposite  page  we  present  another 
plain  kind  of  window,  ornamented  with  a  variety  of  these 
rural  economical  adornings. 

In  the  centre  is  a  Ward's  case.  On  one  side  is  a  pot  of 
Fuchsia.  On  the  other  side  is  a  Calla  Lily.  In  the  hang- 
ing-baskets and  on  the  brackets  are  the  ferns  and  flowers 
that  flourish  in  the  deep  woods,  and  around  the  window  is 
the  ivy,  running  from  two  boxes  ;  and,  in  case  the  window 
has  some  sun,  a  Nasturtion  may  spread  its  bright  blossoms 
among  the  leaves.  -  Then,  in  the  winter,  when  there  is  less 
sun,  the  Striped  Spider-wort,  the  Smilax  and  the  Saxifraga 


*  A  beautifully  illustrated  agricultural  and  family  weekly  paper,  edited 
by  Donald  G.  Mitchell  (Ik  Marvel)  and  Mrs.  H.  B.  Stowe. 


Fig.  45. 


98  ,         THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN9 S  HOME. 

Samentosa  (or  Wandering  Jew)  may  be  substituted.  Pretty 
brackets  can  be  made  of  common  pine,  ornamented  with 
odd-growing  twigs  or  mosses  or  roots,  scraped  and  varnished, 
or  in  their  native  state. 

A  beautiful  ornament  for  a  room  with  pictures  is  Ger- 
man ivy.  Slips  of  this  will  start  without  roots  in  bottles  of 
water.  Slide  the  bottle  behind  the  picture,  and  the  ivy  will 
seem  to  come  from  fairyland,  and  hang  its  verdure  in  all 
manner  of"  pretty  curves  around  the  picture.  It  may  then 
be  trained  to  travel  toward  other  ivy,  and  thus  aid  in  form- 
ing green  cornice  along  the  ceiling.  We  have  seen  some 
rooms  that  had  an  ivy  cornice  around  the  whole,  giving 
the  air  of  a  leafy  bower. 

There  are  some  other  odd  devices  to  ornament  a  room. 
For  example,  a  sponge,  kept  wet  by  daily  immersion,  can  be 
filled  with  flax-seed  and  suspended  by  a  cord,  when  it  will  ere 
long  be  covered  with  verdure  and  afterward  with  flowers. 

A  sweet  potato,  laid  in  a  bowl  of  water  on  a  bracket,  or 
still  better,  suspended  by  a  knitting-needle,  run  through  or 
laid  across  the  bowl  half  in  the  water,  will,  in  due  time,  make 
a  beautiful  verdant  ornament.  A  large  carrot,  with  the 
smallest  half  cut  off,  scooped  out  to  hold  water  and  then 
suspended  with  cords,  will  send  out  graceful  shoots  in  rich 
profusion. 

Half  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  suspended,  will  hold  earth  or  water 
for  plants  and  make  a  pretty  hanging-garden. 

It  may  be  a  very  proper  thing  to  direct  the  ingenuity 
and  activity  of  children  into  the  making  of  hanging-baskets 
and  vases  of  rustic  work.  The  best  foundations  are  the 
cheap  wooden  bowls,  which  are  quite  easy  to  get,  and  the 
walks  of  children  in  the  woods  can  be  made  interesting  by 
their  bringing  home  material  for  this  rustic  work.  Different 
colored  twigs  and  sprays  of  trees,  such  as  the  bright  scarlet 
of  the  dog-wood,  the  yellow  of  the  willow,  the  black  of  the 
birch,  and  the  silvery  gray  of  the  poplar,  may  be  combined 
in  fanciful  net- work.  For  this  sort  of  work,  no  other  in- 


HOME  DECORATION. 


99 


Fig.  46. 


vestment  is  needed  than  a  hammer  and  an  assortment  of 
different-sized  tacks,  and  beautiful  results  will  be  produced. 

Fig.  46  is  a  stand  for 
flowers,  made  of  roots, 
scraped  and  varnished. 
But  the  greatest  and 
cheapest  and  most  de- 
lightful fountain  of 
beauty  is  a  "  Ward 
case." 

Now,  immediately  all 
our  economical  friends 
give  up  in  despair. 
Ward's  cases  sell  all 
the  way  along  from 
eighteen  to  fifty  dol- 
lars, and  are,  like  every 
thing  else  in  this  lower 
world,  regarded  as  the 
sole  perquisites  of  the 
rich. 

Let  us  not  be  too  sure.  Plate-glass,  and  hot-house  plants, 
and  rare  patterns,  are  the  especial  inheritance  of  the  rich ; 
but  any  family  may  command  all  the  requisites  of  a  Ward 
case  for  a  very  small  sum.  Such  a  case  is  a  small  glass 
closet  over  a  well-drained  box  of  soil.  You  make  a  Ward 
case  on  a  small  scale  when  you  turn  a  tumbler  over  a  plant. 
The  glass  keeps  the  temperature  moist  and  equable,  and 
preserves  the  plants  from  dust,  and  the  soil  being  well 
drained,  they  live  and  thrive  accordingly.  The  requisites 
of  these  are  the  glass  top  and  the  bed  of  well-drained  soil. 
Suppose  you  have -a  common  cheap  table,  four  feet  long 
and  two  wide.  Take  off  the  top  boards  of  your  table,  and 
with  them  board  the  bottom  across  tight  and  firm ;  then 
line  it  with  zinc,  and  you  will  have  a  sort  of  box  or  sink  on 
legs.  Now  make  a  top* of  common  window-glass  such  as 


100 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


you  would  get  for  a  cucumber-frame ;  let  it  be  two  and  a 
half  feet  high,  with  a  ridge-pole  like  a  house,  and  a  slant- 
ing roof  of  glass 

47>  resting     on     this 

ridge-pole  ;  on 
one  end  let  there 
be  a  door  two  feet 
square. 

"We  have  seen 
a  Ward  case  made 
in  this  way,  in 
which  the  capa- 
bilities for  pro- 
ducing ornamen- 
tal effect  were 
greatly  beyond 
many  of  the  most 
elaborate  ones  of 
the  shops.  It  was 
large,  and  roomy, 
and  cheap.  Com- 
mon window-sash  and  glass  are  not  dear,  and  any  man  with 
moderate  ingenuity  could  fashion  such  a  glass  closet  for 
his  wife  ;  or  a  woman,  not  having  such  a  husband,  can  do 
it  herself. 

The  sink  or  box  part  must  have  in  the  middle  of  it  a  hole 
of  good  size  for  drainage.  In  preparing  for  the  reception 
of  plants,  first  turn  a  plant-saucer  over  this  hole,  which  may 
otherwise  become  stopped.  Then,  as  directed  for  the  other 
basket,  proceed  with  a  layer  of  broken  charcoal  and  pot- 
sherds for  drainage,  two  inches  deep,  and  prepare  the  soil  as 
directed  above,  and  add  to  it  some  pounded  charcoal,  or 
the  scrapings  of  the  charcoal-bin.  In  short,  more  or  less 
charcoal  and  charcoal-dust  is  always  in  order  in  the  treat- 
ment of  these  moist  subjects,  as  it  keeps  them  from  fer- 
menting and  growing  sour. 


HOME  DECORATION.  101 

Now  for  filling  the  case. 

Our  own  native  forest-ferns  have  a  period  in  the  winter 
months  when  they  cease  to  grow.  They  are  very  particu- 
lar in  asserting  their  right  to  this  yearly  nap,  and  will  not, 
on  any  consideration,  grow  for  you  out  of  their  appointed 
season. 

Nevertheless,  we  shall  tell  you  what  we  have  tried  our- 
selves, because  greenhouse  ferns  are  expensive,  and  often 
great  cheats  when  you  have  bought  them,  and  die  on  your 
hands  in  the  most  reckless  and  shameless  manner.  If  you 
make  a  Ward  case  in  the  spring,  your  ferns  will  grow 
beautifully  in  it  all  summer ;  and  in  the  autumn,  though  they 
stop  growing,  and  cease  to  throw  out  leaves,  yet  the  old 
leaves  will  remain  fresh  and  green  till  the  time  for  starting 
the  new  ones  in  the  spring. 

But,  supposing  you  wish  to  start  your  case  in  the  fall, 
out  of  such  things  as  you  can  find  in  the  forest ;  by  search- 
ing carefully  the  rocks  and  clefts  and  recesses  of  the  forest, 
you  can  find  a  quantity  of  beautiful  ferns  whose  leaves  the 
frost  has  not  yet  assailed.  Gather  them  carefully,  remem- 
bering that  the  time  of  the  plant's  sleep  has  come,  and  that 
you  must  make  the  most  of  the  leaves  it  now  has,  as  you 
will  not  have  a  leaf  more  from  it  till  its  waking-up  time 
in  February  or  March.  But  we  have  succeeded,  and  you 
will  succeed,  in  making  a  very  charming  and  picturesque 
collection.  You  can  make  in  your  Ward  case  lovely  lit- 
tle grottoes  with  any  bits  of  shells,  and  minerals,  and  rocks 
you  may  have ;  you  can  lay  down,  here  and  there,  frag- 
ments of  broken  looking-glass  for  the  floor  of  your  grottoes, 
and  the  effect  of  them  will  be  magical.  A  square  of  look- 
ing-glass introduced  into  the  back  side  of  your  case  will 
produce  charming  effects. 

The  trailing  arbutus  or  May-flower,  if  cut  up  carefully 
in  sods,  and  put  into  this  Ward  case,  will  come  into  bloom 
there  a  month  sooner  than  it  otherwise  would,  and  gladden 
your  eyes  and  heart. 


102  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

In  the  fall,  if  you  can  find  the  tufts  of  eye-bright  or 
houstonia  cerulia,  and  mingle  them  in  with  your  mosses, 
you  will  find  them  blooming  before  winter  is  well  over. 

But  among  the  most  beautiful  things  for  such  a  case  is 
the  partridge-berry,  with  its  red  plums.  The  berries  swell 
and  increase  in  the  moist  atmosphere,  and  become  intense 
in  color,  forming  an  admirable  ornament. 

Then  the  ground  pine,  the  princess  pine,  and  various 
nameless  pretty  things  of  the  woods,  all  flourish  in  these 
little  conservatories.  In  getting  your  sod  of  trailing  arbu- 
tus, remember  that  this  plant  forms  its  buds  in  the  fall.  You 
must,  therefore,  examine  your  sod  carefully,  and  see  if  the 
buds  are  there ;  otherwise  you  will  find  no  blossoms  in  the 
spring. 

There  are  one  or  two  species  of  violets,  also,  that  form 
their  buds  in  the  fall,  and  these  too,  will  blossom  early  for 
you. 

We  have  never  tried  the  wild  anemones,  the  crowfoot,  etc. ; 
but  as  they  all  do  well  in  moist,  shady  places,  we  recom 
mend  hopefully  the  experiment  of  putting  some  of  them 
in. 

A  Ward  case  has  this  recommendation  over  common 
house-plants,  that  it  takes  so  little  time  and  care.  If  well 
made  in  the  outset,  and  thoroughly  drenched  with  water 
when  the  plants  are  first  put  in,  it  will  after  that  need 
only  to  be  watered  about  once  a  month,  and  to  be  ventilated 
by  occasionally  leaving  open  the  door  for  a  half-hour  or 
hour  when  the  moisture  obscures  the  glass  and  seems  in 
excess. 

To  women  embarrassed  with  the  care  of  little  children, 
yet  longing  for  the  refreshment  of  something  growing  and 
beautiful,  this  indoor  garden  will  be  an  untold  treasure. 
The  glass  defends  the  plant  from  the  inexpedient  intermed- 
dling of  little  fingers ;  while  the  little  eyes,  just  on  a  level 
with  the  panes  of  glass,  can  look  through  and  learn  to  enjoy 
the  beautiful,  silent  miracles  of  nature. 


HOME  DECORATION.  103 

t 

For  an  invalid's  chamber,  such  a  case  would  be  an  inde- 
scribable comfort.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  fragment  of  the  green 
woods  brought  in  and  silently  growing;  it  will  refresh 
many  a  weary  hour  to  watch  it. 


VII. 

THE    CAKE    OF    HEALTH. 

THERE  is  no  point  where  a  woman  is  more  liable  to 
suffer  from  a  want  of  knowledge  and  experience  than  in 
reference  to  the  health  of  a  family  committed  to  her  care. 
Many  a  young  lady  who  never  had  any  charge  of  the  sick ; 
who  never  took  any  care  of  an  infant ;  who  never  obtained 
information  on  these  subjects  from  books,  or  from  the  ex- 
perience of  others ;  in  short,  with  little  or  no  preparation, 
has  found  herself  the  principal  attendant  in  dangerous  sick- 
ness, the  chief  nurse  of  a  feeble  infant,  and  the  responsible 
guardian  of  the  health  of  a  whole  family. 

The  care,  the  fear,  the  perplexity  of  a  woman  suddenly 
called  to  these  unwonted  duties,  none  can  realize  till  they 
themselves  feel  it,  or  till  they  see  some  young  and  anxious 
novice  first  attempting  to  meet  such  responsibilities.  To 
a  woman  of  age  and  experience  these  duties  often  involve 
a  measure  of  trial  and  difficulty  at  times  deemed  almost  in- 
Supportable  ;  how  hard,  then,  must  they  press  on  the  heart 
of  the  young  and  inexperienced ! 

There  is  no  really  efficacious  mode  of  preparing  a 
woman  to  take  a  rational  care  of  the  health  of  a  family, 
except  by  communicating  that  knowledge  in  regard  to  the 
construction  of  the  body  and  the  laws  of  health  which  is 
the  basis  of  the  medical  profession.  Not  that  a  woman 
should  undertake  the  minute  and  extensive  investigation 
requisite  for  a  physician ;  but  she  should  gain  a  general 
knowledge  of  first  principles,  as  a  guide  to  her  judgment 
in  emergencies  when  she  can  rely  on  no  other  aid. 


THE   CARE   OF  HEALTH.  105 

With  this  end  in  view,  in  the  preceding  chapters  some 
portions  of  the  organs  and  functions  of  the  human  body 
have  been  presented,  and  others  will  now  follow  in  connec- 
tion with  the  practical  duties  which  result  from  them. 

On  the  general  subject  of  health,  one  recent  discovery 
of  science  may  here  be  introduced  as  having  an  important 
relation  to  every  organ  and  function  of  the  body,  and  as 
being  one  to  which  frequent  reference  will  be  made ;  and 
that  is,  the  nature  and  operation  of  cell-life. 

By  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  we  can  examine  the  minute 
construction  of  plants  and  animals,  in  which  we  discover 
contrivances  and  operations,  if  not  so  sublime,  yet  more 
wonderful  and  interesting,  than  the  vast  systems  of  worlds 
revealed  by  the  telescope. 

By  this  instrument  it  is  now  seen  that  the  first  forma- 
tion, as  well  as  future  changes  and  actions,  of  all  plants  and 
animals  are  accomplished  by  means  of  small  cells  or  bags 
containing  various  kinds  of  liquids.  These  cells  are  so 
minute  that,  of  the  smallest,  some  hundreds  would  not 
cover  the  dot  of  a  printed  i  on  this  page.  They  are  of  di- 
verse shapes  and  contents,  and  perform  various  different 
operations. 

The  first  formation  of  every  animal  is  accomplished  by 
the  agency  of  cells,  and  may  be  il- 
Fig-  *8'  lustrated  by  the  egg  of  any  bird  or 

fowl.  The  exterior  consists  of  a 
hard  shell  for  protection,  and  this 
is  lined  with  a  tough  skin,  to  which 
is  fastened  the  yelk,  (which  means 
the  yellow?)  by  fibrous  strings,  as 
seen  at  «,  a,  in  the  diagram.  In 

the  yelk  floats  the  germ-cell,  &,  which  is  the  point  where  the 
formation  of  the  future  animal  commences.  The  yelk, 
being  lighter  than  the  white,' rises  upward,  and  the  germ 
being  still  lighter,  rises  in  the  yelk.  This  is  to  bring  both 
nearer  to  the  vitalizing  warmth  of  the  brooding  mother. 


106  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

New  cells  are  gradually  formed  from  the  nourishing 
yelk  around  the  germ,  each  being  at  first  roundish  in 
shape,  and  having  a  spot  near  the  centre,  called  the 
nucleus.  The  reason  why  cells  increase  must  remain  a^ 
mystery,  until  we  can  penetrate  the  secrets  of  vital  force 
— probably  forever.  But  the  mode  in  which  they  mul- 
tiply is  as  follows :  The  first  change  noticed  in  a  cell, 
when  warmed  into  vital  activity,  is  the  appearance  of  a 
second  nucleus  within  it,  while  the  cell  gradually  becomes 
oval  in  form,  and  then  is  drawn  inward  at  the  middle,  like 
an  hour-glass,  till  the  two  sides  meet.  The  two  portions 
then  divide,  and  two  cells  appear,  each  containing  its  own 
germinal  nucleus.  These  both  divide  again  in  the  same 
manner,  proceeding  in  the  ratio  of  2,  4,  8,  16,  and  so  on, 
until  most  of  the  yelk  becomes  a  mass  of  cells. 

The  central  point  of  this  mass,  where  the  animal  itself 
commences  to  appear,  shows,  first,  a  round-shaped  figure, 
which  soon  assumes  form  like  a  pear,  and  then  like  a 
violin.  Gradually  the  busy  little  cells  arrange  themselves 
to  build  up  heart,  lungs,  brain,  stomach,  and  limbs,  for 
which  the  yelk  and  white  furnish  nutriment.  There  is  a 
small  bag  of  air  fastened  to  one  end  inside  of  the  shell ; 
and  when  the  animal  is  complete,  this  air  is  taken  into  its 
lungs,  life  begins,  and  out  walks  little  chick,  all  its  powers 
prepared,  and  ready  to  run,  eat,  and  enjoy  existence.  Then, 
as  soon  as  the  animal  uses  its  brain  to  think  and  feel,  and 
its  muscles  to  move,  the  cells  which  have  been  made  up 
into  these  parts  begin  to  decay,  while  new  cells  are  formed 
from  the  blood  to  take  their  place.  Thus  with  life  com- 
mences the  constant  process  of  decay  and  renewal  all  over 
the  body. 

The  liquid  portion  of  the  blood  consists  of  material 
formed  from  food,  air,  and  water.  From  this  material  the 
cells  of  the  blood  are  formed :  first,  the  white  cells,  which 
are  incomplete  in  formation  ;  and  then  the  red  cells,  which 
are  completed  by  the  addition  of  the  oxygen  received  from 


THE  CARE  OF  HEALTH. 


107 


Fig.  49. 


air  in  the  lungs.     Fig.  49  represents  part  of  a  magnified 
blood-vessel,  #,  a,  in  which  the  round  cells  are  the  white, 

and  the  oblong  the  red  cells, 
floating  in  the  blood.  Sur- 
rounding the  blood-vessels 
are  the  cells  forming  the  ad- 
jacent membrane,  5  &,  each 
having  a  nucleus  in  its  centre. 
Cells  have  different  powers 
of  selecting  and  secreting 
diverse  materials  from  the 
blood.  Thus,  some  secrete 
bile  to  carry  to  the  liver, 
others  secrete  saliva  for  the 
mouth,  others  take  up  the 
tears,  and  still  others  take 
material  for  the  brain,  mus- 
cles, and  all  other  organs.  Cells  also  have  a  converting 
power,  of  taking  one  kind  of  matter  from  the  blood,  and 
changing  it  to  another  kind.  They  are  minute  chemical 
laboratories  all  over  the  body,  changing  materials  of  one 
kind  to  another  form  in  which  they  can  be  made  useful. 

Both  animal  and  vegetable  substances  are  formed  of 
cells.  But  the  vegetable  cells  take  up  and  use  unorgan- 
ized or  simple,  natural  matter*  whereas  the  animal  cell 
only  takes  substances  already  organized  into  vegetable  or 
animal  life,  and  then  changes  one  compound  into  another 
of  different  proportions  and  nature. 

These  curious  facts  in  regard  to  cell-life  have  important 
relations  to  the  general  subject  of  the  care  of  health,  and 
also  to  the  cure  of  disease,  as  will  be  noticed  in  following 
chapters. 

THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM. 

There  is  another  portion  of  the  body,  which  is  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  every  other  that  it  is  placed  in  this 


108 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  60. 


chapter  as  also  having  reference  to  every  department  in 
the  general  subject  of  the  care  of  health. 

The  body  has  no  power  to  move  itself,  but  is  a  collection 
of  instruments  to  be  used  by  the  mind  in  securing  various 
kinds  of  knowledge  and  enjoyment.  The  organs  through 
which  the  mind  thus  operates  are  the  brain  and  nerves. 
The  drawing  (Fig.  50)  represents  them. 

The  brain  lies  in  the  skull, 
and  is  divided  into  the  large 
or  upper  brain,  marked  1, 
and  the  small  or  lower  brain, 
marked  2.  From  the  brain 
runs  .the  spinal  marrow 
through  the  spine  or  back- 
bone. From  each  side  of  the 
spine  the  large  nerves  run 
out  into  innumerable  smallei 
branches  to  every  portion  of 
the  body.  The  drawing 
shows  only  some  of  the  larg- 
er branches.  Those  marked 
3  run  to  the  neck  and  organs 
of  the  chest ;  those  marked  4 
go  to  the  arms ;  those  below 
the  arms,  marked  3,  go  to 
the  trunk ;  and  those  marked 
5  go  to  the  legs. 

The  brain  and  nerves  con- 
sist of  two  kinds  of  nervous 

matter — the  gray,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  portion 
that  originates  and  controls  a  nervous  fluid  which  imparts 
power  of  action ;  and  the  white,  which  seems  to  conduct 
this  fluid  to  every  part  of  the  body. 

The  brain  and  nervous  system  are  divided  into  distinct 
portions,  each  having  different  offices  to  perform,  and  each 
acting  independently  of  the  others ;  as,  for  example,  one 


THE   CARE   OF  HEALTH.  109 

portion  is  employed  by  the  mind  in  thinking,  and  in  feeling 
pleasurable  or  painful  mental  emotions ;  another  in  moving 
the  muscles ;  while  the  nerves  that  run  to  the  nose,  ears, 
eyes,  tongue,  hands,  and  surface  generally,  are  employed  in 
seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  tasting,  and  feeling  all  physical 
sensations. 

The  lack  portion  of  the  spinal  marrow  and  the  nerves 
that  run  from  it  are  employed  in  sensation,  or  the  sense  of 
feeling.  These  nerves  extend  over  the  whole  body,  but  are 
largely  developed  in  the  network  of  nerves  in  the  skin. 
The  front  portion  of  the  spinal  marrow  and  its  branches 
are  employed  in  moving  those  muscles  in  all  parts  of  the 
body  which  are  controlled  by  the  ivill  or  choice  of  the  mind. 
These  are  called  the  nerves  of  motion. 

The  nerves  of  sensation  and  nerves  of  motion,  although 
they  start  from  different  portions  of  the  spine,  are  united 
in  the  same  sheath  or  cover,  till  they  terminate  in  the 
muscles.  Thus,  every  muscle  is  moved  by  nerves  of  motion ; 
while  alongside  of  this  nerve,  in  the  same  sheath,  is  a  nerve 
of  sensation.  All  the  nerves  of  motion  and  sensation  are 
connected  with  those  portions  of  the  brain  used  when  we 
think,  feel,  and  choose.  By  this  arrangement  the  mind 
knows  what  is  wanted  in  all  parts  of  the  body  by  means  of 
the  nerves  of  sensation,  and  then  it  acts  by  means  of  the 
nerves  of  motion. 

For  example,  when  we  feel  the  cold  air  on  the  skin,  the 
nerves  of  sensation  report  to  the  brain,  and  thus  to  the 
mind,  that  the  body  is  growing  cold.  The  mind  thus 
knows  that  more  clothing  is  needed,  and  wills  to  have  the 
eyes  look  for  it,  and  the  hands  and  feet  move  to  get  it. 
This  is  done  by  the  nerves  of  sight  and  of  motion. 

Next  are  the  nerves  of  involuntary  motion,  which  move 
all  those  parts  of  the  head,  face,  and  body  that  are  used  in 
breathing,  and  in  other  operations  connected  with  it.  By 
these  we  continue  to  breathe  when  asleep,  and  whether  we 
will  to  do  so  or  not.  There  are  also  some  of  the  nerves  of 


110  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

voluntary  motion  that  are  mixed  with  these,  which  enable 
the  mind  to  stop  respiration,  or  to  regulate  it  to  a  certain 
extent.  But  the  mind  has  no  power  to  stop  it  for  any 
great  length  of  time. 

There  is  another  large  and  important  system  of  nerves 
called  the  sympathetic  or  ganglionic  system.  It  consists  of 
small  masses  of  gray  and  white  nervous  matter,  that  seem 
to  be  small  brains  with  nerves  running  from  them.  These 
are  called  ganglia,  and  are  arranged  on  each  side  of  the 
spine,  while  small  nerves  from  the  spinal  marrow  run  into 
them,  thus  uniting  the  sympathetic  system  with  the  nerves 
of  the  spine.  These  ganglia  are  also  distributed  around  in 
various  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  body,  especially  in  the 
intestines,  and  all  the  different  ganglia  are  connected  with 
each  other  by  nerves,  thus  making  one  system.  It  is  the 
ganglionic  system  that  carries  on  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  the  action  of  the  capillaries,  lymphatics,  arteries,  and 
veins,  together  with  the  work  of  secretion,  absorption,  and 
most  of  the  internal  working  of  the  body,  which  goes  for- 
ward without  any  knowledge  or  control  of  the  mind. 

Every  portion  of  the  body  has  nerves  of  sensation  com- 
ing from  the  spine,  and  also  branches  of  the  sympathetic 
or  ganglionic  system.  The  object  of  this  is  to  form  a  sym- 
pathetic communication  between  the  several  parts  of  the 
body,  and  also  to  enable  the  mind  to  receive,  through  the 
brain,  some  general  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  whole 
system.  It  is  owing  to  this  that,  when  one  portion  of  the 
body  is  affected,  other  portions  sympathize.  For  example, 
if  one  part  of  the  body  is  diseased,  the  stomach  may  so  sym- 
pathize as  to  lose  all  appetite  until  the  disease  is  removed. 

All  the  operations  of  the  nervous  system  are  performed 
by  the  influence  of  the  nervous  fluid,  which  is  generated 
in  the  gray  portions  of  the  brain  and  ganglia.  Whenever 
a  nerve  is  cut  off  from  its  connection  with  these  nervous 
centres,  its  power  is  gone,  and  the  part  to  which  it  minis 
tered  becomes  lifeless  and  incapable  of  motion. 


THE  CARE   OF  HEALTH.  Ill 

The  brain  and  nerves  can  be  overworked,  and  can  also 
suffer  for  want  of  exercise,  just  as  the  muscles  do.  It  is 
necessary  for  the  perfect  health  of  the  brain  and  nerves 
that  the  several  portions  be  exercised  sufficiently,  and  that 
no  part  be  exhausted  by  over-action.  For  example,  the 
nerves  of  sensation  may  be  very  much  exercised,  and  the 
nerves  of  motion  have  but  little  exercise.  In  this  case,  one 
will  be  weakened  by  excess  of  work,  and  the  other  by 
the  want  of  it. 

It  is  found  by  experience  that  the  proper  exercise  of  the 
nerves  of  motion  tends  to  reduce  any  extreme  suscepti- 
bility of  the  nerves  of  sensation.  On  the  contrary,  the 
neglect  of  such  exercise  tends  to  produce  an  excessive 
sensibility  in  the  nerves  of  sensation. 

Whenever  that  part  of  the  brain  which  is  employed  in 
thinking,  feeling,  and  willing,  is  greatly  exercised  by  hard 
study,  or  by  excessive  care  or  emotion,  the  blood  tends  to 
the  brain  to  supply  it  with  increased  nourishment,  just  as 
it  flows  to  the  muscles  when  they  are  exercised.  Over-ex- 
ercise of  this  portion  of  the  brain  causes  engorgement  of 
the  blood-vessels.  This  is  sometimes  indicated  by  pain,  or 
by  a  sense  of  fullness  in  the  head ;  but  oftener  the  result 
is  a  debilitating  drain  on  the  nervous  system,  which  de- 
pends for  its  supply  on  the  healthful  state  of  the  brain. 

The  brain  has,  as  it  were,  a  fountain  of  supply  for  the 
nervous  fluid,  which  flows  to  all  the  nerves,  and  stimulates 
them  to  action.  Some  brains  have  a  larger,  and  some  a 
smaller  fountain ;  so  that  a  degree  of  mental  activity  that 
•would  entirely  exhaust  one,  would  make  only  a  small  and 
healthful  drain  upon  another. 

The  excessive  use  of  certain  portions  of  the  brain  tends 
to  withdraw  the  nervous  energy  from  other  portions;  so 
that  when  one  part  is  debilitated  by  excess,  another  fails  by 
neglect.  For  example,  a  person  may  so  exhaust  the  brain 
power  in  the  excessive  use  of  the  nerves  of  motion  by 
hard  work,  as  to  leave  little  for  any  other  faculty.  On  the 


112  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

other  hand,  the  nerves  of  feeling  and  thinking  may  be  so 
used  as  to  withdraw  the  nervous  fluid  from  the  nerves  of 
motion,  and  thus  debilitate  the  muscles. 

Some  animal  propensities  may  be  indulged  to  such  ex- 
cess as  to  produce  a  constant  tendency  of  the  blood  to  a 
certain  portion  of  the  brain,  and  to  the  organs  connected 
with  it,  and  thus  cause  a  constant  and  excessive  excite- 
ment, which  finally  becomes  a  disease.  Sometimes  a  para- 
lysis of  this  portion  of  the  brain  results  from  such  an 
entire  exhaustion  of  the  nervous  fountain  and  of  the  over- 
worked nerves. 

Thus,  also,  the  thinking  portion  of  the  brain  may  be  so 
overworked  as  to  drain  the  nervous  fluid  from  other  por- 
tions, which  become  debilitated  by  the  loss.  And  in  this 
way,  also,  the  overworked  portion  may  be  diseased  or 
paralyzed  by  the  excess. 

The  necessity  for  the  equal  development  of  all  portions  of 
the  brain  by  an  appropriate  exercise  of  all  the  faculties  of 
mind  and  body,  and  the  influence  of  this  upon  happiness, 
is  the  most  important  portion  of  this  subject,  and  will  be 
more  directly  exhibited  in  another  chapter. 


YIII. 

/ 

DOMESTIC  EXERCISE. 

IN  a  work  which  aims  to  influence  women  to  train  the 
young  to  honor  domestic  labor  and  to  seek  healthful  exer- 
cise in  home  pursuits,  there  is  special  reason  for  explaining 
the  construction  of  the  muscles  and  their  connection  with 
the  nerves,  these  being  the  chief  organs  of  motion. 

The  muscles,  as  seen  by  the  naked  eye,  consist  of  very 
fine  fibres  or  strings,  bound  up  in  smooth,  silky  casings  of 
thin  membrane.  But  each  of  these  visible  fibres  or  strings 
the  microscope  shows  to  be  made  up  of  still  finer  strings, 
numbering  from  five  to  eight  hundaed  in  each  fibre.  And 
each  of  these  microscopic  fibres  is  a  series  or  chain  of 
elastic  cells,  which  are  so  minute  that  one  hundred  thou- 
sand would  scarcely  cover  a  capital  O  on  this  page. 

The  peculiar  property  of  the  cells  which  compose  the 
muscles  is  their  elasticity,  no  other  cells  of  the  body  having 

this  property.      At  Fig.  51  is  a 
diagram    representing    a   micro- 

•/"y  y  V  V""W  "S     sc°pic   muscular  fibre,  in  which 
V  A  A  A  A  A  A  y .    the  cells   are  relaxed,  as  in  the 

natural  state  of  rest.     But  when 

the  muscle  contracts,  each  of  its  numberless  cells  in  all  its 

small  fibres  becomes  widened,  making 

Fig,62-  each  fibre  of  the   muscle  shorter   and 

/YYYY  YY\      tm'cker>  as  at  Fig-  52-     Tnis  explains 
[  I  1      the  cause  of  the  swelling  out  of  muscles 

\J\  A  A  TWV  A  / 

when  they  act. 
Every  motion  in  every  part  of  the  body  has  a  special 


114 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  53c 


muscle  to  produce  it,  and  many  have  other  muscles  to  re- 
store the  part  moved  to  its  natural  state.  The  muscles  that 
move  or  bend  any  part  are  called  flexors,  and  those  that  re- 
store the  natural  position  are  called  extensors. 

Fig.  53  represents  the  muscles  of  the  arm  after  the  skin 
and  flesh  are  removed.  They  are  all  in 
smooth  silky  cases,  laid  over  each  other, 
and  separated  both  by  the  smooth  mem- 
branes that  encase  them  and  by  layers  of 
fat,  so  as  to  move  easily  without  interfer- 
ing with  each  other.  They  are  fastened 
to  the  bones  by  strong  tendons  and  carti- 
lages ;  and  around  the  wrist,  in  the  draw- 
ing, is  shown  a  band  of  cartilage  to  con- 
fine them  in  place.  The  muscle  marked 
8  is  the  extensor  that  straightens  the  fin- 
gers after  they  have  been  closed  by  a 
flexor  the  other  side  of  the  arm.  In  like 
manner,  each  motion  of  the  arm  and  fin- 
gers nas  one  muscle  to  produce  it  and 
another  to  restore  to  the  natural  position. 
The  muscles  are  dependent  on  the 
brain  and  nerves  for  power  to  move.  It 
has  been  shown  that  the  gray  matter  of 
the  brain  and  spinal  marrow  furnishes 
the  stimulating  power  that  moves  the 
muscles,  and  causes  sensations  of  touch 
on  the  skin,  and  the  other  sensations  of 
the  several  senses.  The  white  part  of  the  brain  and  spinal 
marrow  consists  solely  of  conducting  tubes  to  transmit  this 
influence.  Each  of  the  minute  fibrils  of  the  muscles  has  a 
small  conducting  -nerve  connecting  it  with  the  brain  or 
spinal  marrow,  and  in  this  respect  each  muscular  fibril  is 
separate  from  every  other. 

When,  therefore,  the  mind  wills  to  move  a  flexor  muscle 
of  the  arm,  the  gray  matter  sends  out  the  stimulus  through 


DOMESTIC  EXERCISE.  %  115 

the  nerves  to  the  cells  of  each  individual  fibre  of  that 
muscle,  and  they  contract.  When  this  is  done,  the  nerve 
of  sensation  reports  it  to  the  brain  and  mind.  If  the  mind 
desires  to  return  the  arm  to  its  former  position,  then  fol- 
lows the  willing,  and  consequent  stimulus  sent  through  the 
nerves  to  the  corresponding  muscle ;  its  cells  contract,  and 
the  limb  is  restored. 

When  the  motion  is  a  compound  one,  involving  the 
action  of  several  muscles  at  the  same  time,  a  multitude  of 
impressions  are  sent  back  and  forth  to  and  from  the  brain 
through  the  nerves.  But  the  person  acting  thus  is  uncon- 
scious of  all  this  delicate  and  wonderful  mechanism.  He 
wills  the  movement,  and*  instantly  the  requisite  nervous 
power  is  sent  to  the  required  cells  and  fibres,  and  they 
perform  the  motions  required*  Many  of  the  muscles  are 
moved  by  the  sympathetic  system,  over  which  the  mind 
has  but  little  control. 

Among  the  muscles  and  nerves  so  intimately  connected, 
run  the  minute  capillaries  of  the  blood,  which  furnish 
nourishment  to  all. 

Fig,  54  represents  an  artery  at  <z,  which  brings  pure 
blood  to  a  muscle  from  the  heart.  After 
meandering  through  the  capillaries  at  c, 
to  distribute  oxygen  and  food  from  the 
stomach,  the  blood  enters  the  vein,  5, 
loaded  with  carbonic  acid  and  water 
taken  up  in  the  capillaries,  to  be  carried 
to  the  lungs  or  skin,  and  thrown  out  into 
the  air. 

The  manner  in  which  the   exercise 
of  the  muscles   quickens    the   circula- 
tion of  the  blood  will  now  be  explained. 
The  veins  abound  in  every  part  of  every 
muscle,  and  the  large  veins  have  valves  which  prevent  the 
blood  from  flowing  backward.     If  the  wrist  is   grasped 
tightly,  the  veins  of  the  hand  are  immediately  swollen. 


116  «          THE  AMERICAN    WOMAN1  S  HOME. 

This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  blood  is  prevented  from 
flowing  toward  the  heart  by  this  pressure,  and  by  the  vein- 
valves  from  returning  into  the  arteries ;  while  the  arteries 
themselves,  being  placed  deeper  down,  are  not  so  compressed, 
and  continue  to  send  the  blood  into  the  hand,  and  thus  it  ac- 
cumulates. As  soon  as  this  pressure  is  removed,  the  blood 
springs  onward  from  the  restraint  with  accelerated  motion. 
This  same  process  takes  place  when  any  of  the  muscles 
are  exercised.  The  contraction  of  any  muscle  presses  some 
of  the  veins,  so  that  the  blood  can  not  flow  the  natural  way, 
while  the  valves  in  the  veins  prevent  its  flowing  backward: 
Meantime  the  arteries  continue  to  press  the  blood  along 
until  the  veins  become  swollen.  Then,  as  soon  as  the 
muscle  ceases  its  contraction,  the  blood  flows  faster  from 
the  previous  accumulation. 

If,  then,  we  use  a  number  of  muscles,  and  use  them 
strongly  and  quickly,  there  are  so  many  veins  affected  in 
this  way  as  to  quicken  the  whole  circulation.  The  heart 
receives  blood  faster,  and  sends  it  to  the  lungs  faster. 
Then  the  lungs  work  quicker,  to  furnish  the  oxygen  re- 
quired by  the  greater  amount  of  blood.  The  blood  re- 
turns with  greater  speed  to  the  heart,  and  the  heart  sends 
it  out  with  quicker  action  through  the  arteries  to  the  capil- 
laries. In  the  capillaries,  too,  the  decayed  matter  is  car- 
ried off  faster,  and  then  the  stomach  calls  for  more  food 
to  furnish  new  and  pure  blood.  Thus  it  is  that  exercise 
gives  new  life  and  nourishment  to  every  part  of  the  body. 

It  is  the  universal  law  of  the  human  frame  that  exercise 
is  indispensable  to  the  health  of  the  several  parts.  Thus, 
if  a  blood-vessel  be  tied  up,  so  as  not  to  be  used,  it  shrinks, 
and  becomes  a  useless  string ;  if  a  muscle  be  condemned 
to  inaction,  it  shrinks  in  size  and  diminishes  in  power ;  and 
thus  it  is  also  with  the  bones.  Inactivity  produces  soft- 
ness, debility,  and  unfitness  for  the  functions  they  are  de- 
signed to  perform. 

Now,  the  nerves,  like  all  other  parts  of  the  body,  gain 


DOMESTIC  EXERCISE.  117 

and  lose  strength  according  as  they  are  exercised.  If  they 
have  too  much  or  too  little  exercise,  they  lose  strength ; 
if  they  are  exercised  to  a  proper  degree,  they  gain  strength. 
When  the  mind  is  continuously  excited,  by  business,  study, 
or  the  imagination,  the  nerves  of  emotion  and  sensation  are 
kept  in  constant  action,  while  the  nerves  of  motion  are  un- 
employed. If  this  is  continued  for  a  long  time,  the  nerves 
of  sensation  lose  their  strength  from  over-action,  and  the 
nerves  of  motion  lose  their  power  from  inactivity.  In 
consequence,  there  is  a  morbid  excitability  of  the  nervous, 
and  a  debility  of  the  muscular  system,  which  make  all 
exertion  irksome  and  wearisome. 

The  only  mode  of  preserving  the  health  of  these  systems 
is  to  keep  up  in  them  an  equilibrium  of  action.  For  this 
purpose,  occupations  must  be  sought  which  exercise  the 
muscles  and  interest  the  mind ;  and  thus  the  equal  action 
of  both  kinds  of  nerves  is  secured.  This  shows  why  exercise 
is  so  much  more  healthful  and  invigorating  when  the  mind 
is  interested,  than  when  it  is  not.  As  an  illustration,  let  a 
person  go  shopping  with  a  friend,  and  have  nothing  to  do 
but  look  on.  How  soon  do  the  continuous  walking  and  stand- 
ing weary !  But,  suppose  one,  thus  wearied,  hears  of  the 
arrival  of  a  very  dear  friend :  she  can  instantly  walk  off  a 
mile  or  two  to  meet  her,  without  the  least  feeling  of  fatigue. 
By  this  is  shown  the  importance  of  furnishing,  for  young 
persons,  exercise  in  which  they  will  take  an  interest.  Long 
and  formal  walks,  merely  for  exercise,  though  they  do  some 
good,  in  securing  fresh  air,  and  some  exercise  of  the  mus- 
cles, would  be  of  triple  benefit  if  changed  to  amusing 
sports,  or  to  the  cultivation  of  fruits  and  flowers,  in  which 
it  is  impossible  to  engage  without  acquiring  a  great  inte- 
rest. 

It  shows,  also,  why  it  is  far  better  to  trust  to  useful  do- 
mestic exercise  at  home  than  to  send  a  young  person  out  to 
walk  for  the  mere  purpose  of  exercise.  Young  girls  can 
seldom  be  made  to  realize  the  value  of  health,  and  the 


118      .  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

need  of  exercise  to  secure  it,  so  as  to  feel  much  interest  in 
walking  abroad,  when  they  have  no  other  object.  But,  if 
they  are  brought  up  to  minister  to  the  comfort  and  enjoy- 
ment of  themselves  and  others,  by  performing  domestic 
duties,  they  will  constantly  be  interested  and  cheered  in 
their  exercise  by  the  feeling  of  usefulness  and  the  con- 
sciousness of  having  performed  their  duty. 

There  are  few  young  persons,  it  is  hoped,  who  are  brought 
up  with  such  miserable  habits  of  selfishness  and  indolence 
that  they  can  not  be  made  to  feel  happier  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  being  usefully  employed.  And  those  who  have 
never  been  accustomed  to  think  or  care  for  any  one  but 
themselves,  and  who  seem  to  feel  little  pleasure  in  making 
themselves  useful,  by  wise  and  proper  influences  can  often 
be  gradually  awakened  to  the  new  pleasure  of  benevolent 
exertion  to  promote  the  comfort  and  enjoyment  of  others. 
And  the  more  this  sacred  and  elevating  kind  of  enjoyment 
is  tasted,  the  greater  is  the  relish  induced.  Other  enjoy- 
ments often  cloy;  but  the  heavenly  pleasure  secured  by 
virtuous  industry  and  benevolence,  while  it  satisfies  at  the 
time,  awakens  fresh  desires  for  the  continuance  of  so  enno- 
bling a  good. 


IX. 

HEALTHFUL     FOOD. 

THE  person  who  decides  what  shall  be  the  food  and 
drink  of  a  family,  and  the  modes  of  its  preparation,  is  the 
one  who  decides,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  what  shall  be 
the  health  of  that  family.  It  is  the  opinion  of  most  me- 
dical men,  that  intemperance  in  eating  is  one  of  the  most 
fruitful  of  all  causes  of  disease  and  death.  If  this  be  so,  the 
woman  who  wisely  adapts  the  food  and  cooking  of  her  fa- 
mily to  the  laws  of  health  removes  one  of  the  greatest 
risks  which  threatens  the  lives  of  those  under  her  care. 
But,  unfortunately,  there  is  no  other  duty  that  has  been 
involved  in  more  doubt  and  perplexity.  Were  one  to 
believe  all  that  is  said  and  written  on  this  subject,  the  con- 
clusion probably  would  be,  that  there  is  not  one  solitary 
article  of  food  on  God's  earth  which  it  is  healthful  to  eat. 
Happily,  however,  there  are  general  principles  on  this 
subject  which,  if  understood  and  applied,  will  prove  a  safe 
guide  to  any  woman  of  common  sense  ;  and  it  is  the  object 
of  the  following  chapter  to  set  forth  these  principles. 

All  material  things  on  earth,  whether  solid,  liquid,  or 
gaseous,  can  be  resolved  into  sixty-two  simple  substances, 
only  fourteen  of  which  are  in  the  human  body ;  and  these, 
in  certain  proportions,  in  all  mankind. 

Thus,  in  a  man  weighing  154  Ibs.  are  found,  111  Ibs. 
oxygen  gas,  and  14  Ibs.  hydrogen  gas,  which,  united,  form 
water;  21  Ibs.  carbon;  3  Ibs.  8  oz.  nitrogen  gas;  1  Ib.  12 
oz.  190  grs.  phosphorus ;  2  Ibs.  calcium,  the  chief  ingre- 
<lient  of  bones ;  2  oz.  fluorine  ;  2  oz.  219  grs.  sulphur ;  2  oz 


120  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

47  grs.  chlorine ;  2  oz.  116  grs.  sodium ;  100  grs.  iron ;  290 
grs.  potassium ;  12  grs.  magnesium ;  and  2  grs.  silicon. 

These  simple  substances  are  constantly  passing  out  of 
the  body  through  the  lungs,  skin,  and  other  excreting 
organs. 

It  is  found  that  certain  of  these  simple  elements  are  used 
for  jone  part  of  the  body,  and  others  for  other  parts,  and 
this  in  certain  regular  proportions.  Thus,  carbon  is  the 
chief  element  of  fat,  and  also  supplies  the  fuel  that  com- 
bines with  oxygen  in  the  capillaries  to  produce  animal 
heat.  The  nitrogen  which  we  gain  from  our  food  and  the 
air  is  the  chief  element  of  muscle ;  phosphorus  is  the  chief 
element  of  brain  and  nerves ;  and  calcium  or  lime  is  the 
hard  portion  of  the  bones.  Iron  is  an  important  element 
of  blood,  and  silicon  supplies  the  hardest  parts  of  the  teeth, 
nails,  and  hair. 

Water,  which  is  composed  of  the  two  gases,  oxygen  and 
hydrogen,  is  the  largest  portion  of  the  body,  forming  its 
fluids  ;  there  is  four  times  as  much  of  carbon  as  there  is  of 
nitrogen  in  the  body ;  while  there  is  only  two  per  cent  as 
much  phosphorus  as  carbon.  A  man  weighing  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  pounds,  who  leads  an  active  life,  takes  into 
his  stomach  daily  from  two  to  three  pounds  of  solid  food, 
and  from  five  to  six  pounds  of  liquid.  At  the  same  time  he 
takes  into  his  lungs,  daily,  four  or  five  thousand  gallons  of 
air.  This  amounts  to  three  thousand  pounds  of  nutriment 
received  through  stomach  and  lungs,  and  then  expelled  from 
the  body,  in  one  year ;  or  about  twenty  times  the  man's  own 
weight. 

The  change  goes  on  in  every  minute  point  of  the  body, 
though  in  some  parts  much  faster  than  in  others;  as  set 
forth  in  the  piquant  and  sprightly  language  of  Dr.  O.  W 
Holmes,*  who,  giving  a  vivid  picture  of  the  constant  decay 
and  renewal  of  the  body,  says : 

*  Atlantic  Almanac,  1869,  p.  40. 


HEALTHFUL   FOOD.  121 

"  Every  organized  leing  always  lives  immersed  in  a 
strong  solution  of  its  own  elements" 

"  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  air-plant,  the  solution 
contains  all  its  elements  ;  but  in  higher  plants,  and  in  ani- 
mals generally,  some  of  the  principal  ones  only.  Take  our 
own  bodies,  and  we  find  the  atmosphere  contains  the  oxygen 
and  the  nitrogen,  of  which  we  are  so  largely  made  up,  as  its 
chief  constituents  ;  the  hydrogen,  also,  in  its  watery  vapor  ; 
the  carbon,  in  its  carbonic  acid.  What  our  air-bath  does  not 
furnish  us,  we  must  take  in  the  form  of  nourishment,  sup- 
plied through  the  digestive  organs.  But  the  first  food  we 
take,  after  we  have  set  up  for  ourselves,  is  air,  and  the  last 
food  we  take  is  air  also.  We  are  all  chameleons  in  our  diet, 
as  we  are  all  salamanders  in  our  habitats,  inasmuch  as  we  live 
always  in  the  fire  of  our  own  smouldering  combustion ;  a 
gentle  but  constant  flame,  fanned  every  day  by  the  same 
forty  hogsheads  of  air  which  furnish  us  not  with  our  daily 
bread,  which  we  can  live  more  than  a  day  without  touching, 
but  with  our  momentary,  and  oftener  than  momentary,  ali- 
ment, without  which  we  can  not  live  five  minutes." 

"  We  are  perishing  and  being  born  again  at  every  instant. 
We  do  literally  enter  over  and  over  again  into  the  womb  of 
that  great  mother,  from  whom  we  get  our  bones,  and  flesh, 
and  blood,  and  marrow.  '  I  die  daily '  is  true  of  all  that 
live.  If  we  cease  to  die,  particle  by  particle,  and  to  be  born 
anew  in  the  same  proportion,  the  whole  movement  of  life 
comes  to  an  end,  and  swift,  universal,  irreparable  decay  re- 
solves our  frames  into  the  parent  elements." 

"  The  products  of  the  internal  fire  which  consumes  us  over 
and  over  again  every  year,  pass  off  mainly  in  smoke  and 
steam  from  the  lungs  and  the  skin.  The  smoke  is  only  in- 
visible, because  the  combustion  is  so  perfect.  The  steam  is 
plain  enough  in  our  breaths  on  a  frosty  morning ;  and  an 
over-driven  horse  will  show  us,  on  a  larger  scale,  the  cloud 
that  is  always  arising  from  own  bodies." 

"  Man  walks,  then,  not  only  in  a  vain  show,  but  wra  ,>ped 


122  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN^  S  HOME. 

in  an  uncelestial  aureole  of  his  own  material  exhalations. 
A  great  mist  of  gases  and  of  vapor  rises  day  and  night  from 
the  whole  realm  of  living  nature.  The  water  and  the  car- 
bonic acid  which  animals  exhale  become  the  food  of  plants, 
whose  leaves  are  at  once  lungs  and  mouths.  The  vegetable 
world  reverses  the  breathing  process  of  the  animal  creation, 
restoring  the  elements  which  that  has  combined  and  rendered 
effete  for  its  own  purposes,  to  their  original  condition.  The 
salt-water  ocean  is  a  great  aquarium.  The  air  ocean  in 
which  we  liye  is  a  c  Wardian  case,'  of  larger  dimensions." 

It  is  found  that  the  simple  elements  will  not  'nourish 
the  body  in  their  natural  state,  but  only  when  organized, 
either  as  vegetable  or  animal  food ;  and,  to  the  dismay  of 
the  Grahamite  or  vegetarian  school,  it  is  now  established 
by  chemists  that  animal  and  vegetable  food  contain  the 
same  elements,  and  in  nearly  the  same  proportions. 

Thus,  in  animal  food,  carbon  predominates  in  fats,  while 
in  vegetable  food  it  shows  itself  in  sugar,  starch,  and  vege- 
table oils.  Nitrogen  is  found  in  animal  food  in  the  albu- 
men, fibrin,  and  caseine ;  while  in  vegetables  it  is  in 
gluten,  albumen,  and  caseine. 

It  is  also  a  curious  fact  that,  in  all  articles  of  food,  the 
elements  that  nourish  diverse  parts  of  the  body  are  divided 
into  separable  portions,  and  also  that  the  pro- 
Fig.  55.     portions   correspond  in  a  great  degree  to  the 
wants  of  the  body.     For  example,  a  kernel  of 
wheat  contains    all   the   articles  demanded  for 
every  part  of  the  body.      Fig.    55   represents, 
upon  an  enlarged  scale,  the  position   and  pro- 
portions of  the  chief  elements  required.     The 
white  central  part  is   the  largest  in  quantity, 
and  is   chiefly   carbon   in  the  form  of  starch, 
which   supplies    fat    and    fuel    for   the    capillaries.     The 
shaded  outer  portion  is  chiefly  nitrogen,  which  nourishes 
the  muscles,  and  the  dark  spot  at  the  bottom  is  prin- 
cipally   phosphorus,    which     nourishes    the    brain    and 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  128 

nerves.  And  these  elements  are  in  due  proportion  to  the 
demands  of  the  body.  A  portion  of  the  outer  covering  of 
a  wheat-kernel  holds  lime,  silica,  and  iron,  which  are 
needed  by  the  body,  and  which  are  found  in  no  other  part 
of  the  grain.  The  woody  fibre  is  not  digested,  but  serves 
by  its  bulk  and  stimulating  action  to  facilitate  digestion. 
It  is  therefore  evident  that  bread  made  of  unbolted  flour 
is  more  healthful  than  that  made  of  superfine  flour.  The 
process  of  bolting  removes  all  the  woody  fibre ;  the  lime 
needed  for  the  bones ;  the  silica  for  hair,  nails,  and  teeth ; 
the  iron  for  the  blood ;  and  most  of  the  nitrogen  and 
phosphorus  needed  for  muscles,  brain,  and  nerves. 

Experiments  on  animals  prove  that  fine  flour  alone, 
which  is  chiefly  carbon,  will  not  sustain  life  more  than  a 
month,  while  unbolted  flour  furnishes  all  that  is  needed 
for  every  part  of  the  body.  There  are  cases  where  persons 
can  not  use  such  coarse  bread,  on  account  of  its  irritating 
action  on  inflamed  coats  of  the  stomach.  For  such,  a 
kind  of  wheaten  grit  is  provided,  containing  all  the  kernel 
of  the  wheat,  except  the  outside  woody  fibre. 

When  the  body  requires  a  given  kind  of  diet,  specially  de- 
manded by  brain,  lungs,  or  muscles,  the  appetite  will  crave 
food  for  it  until  the  necessary  amount  of  this  article  is  secured. 
If,  then,  the  food  in  which  the  needed  aliment  abounds 
is  not  supplied,  other  food  will  be  taken  in  larger  quanti- 
ties than  needed  until  that  amount  is  gained.  For  all  kinds 
of  food  have  supplies  for  every  want  of  the  body,  though 
in  different  proportions.  Thus,  for  example,  if  the  muscles 
are  worked  a  great  deal,  food  in  which  nitrogen  abounds  is 
required,  and  the  appetite  will  continue  until  the  requisite 
amount  of  nitrogen  is  secured.  If,  then,  food  is  taken 
which  has  not  the  requisite  quantity,  the  consequence 
is,  that  more  is  taken  than  the  system  can  use,  while 
the  vital  powers  are  needlessly  taxed  to  throw  off  the 
excess. 

These  facts  were  ascertained  by  Liebig,  a  celebrated  Ger- 


124  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN1  S  HOME. 

man  chemist  and  physicist,  who,  assisted  by  his  govern- 
ment, conducted  experiments  on  a  large  scale  in  prisons,  in 
armies,  and  in  hospitals.  Among  other  results,  he  states 
that  those  who  use  potatoes  for  their  principal  food  eat  them 
in  very  much  larger  quantities  than  their  bodies  would  de- 
mand if  they  used  also  other  food.  The  reason  is,  that  the 
potato  has  a  very  large  proportion  of  starch  that  supplies 
only  fuel  for  the  capillaries  and  very  little  nitrogen  to  feed 
the  muscles.  For  this  reason  lean  meat  is  needed  with 
potatoes. 

In  comparing  wheat  and  potatoes  we  find  that  in  one 
hundred  parts  wheat  there  are  fourteen  parts  nitrogen  for 
muscle,  and  two  parts  phosphorus  for  brain  and  nerves. 
But  in  the  potato  there  is  only  one  part  in  one  hundred 
for  muscle,  and  nine  tenths  of  one  part  of  phosphorus  for 
brain  and  nerves. 

The  articles  containing  most  of  the  three  articles  needed 
generally  in  the  body  are  as  follows :  for  fat  and  heat-mak- 
ing— butter,  lard,  sugar,  and  molasses  ;  for  muscle-making 
— -lean  meat,  cheese,  peas,  beans,  and  lean  fishes ;  for  brain 
and  nerves — shell-fish,  lean  meats,  peas,  beans,  and  very 
active  birds  and  fishes  who  live  chiefly  on  food  in  which 
phosphorus  abounds.  In  a  meat  diet,  the  fat  supplies  car- 
bon for  the  capillaries  and  the  lean  furnishes  nutriment  for 
muscle,  brain,  and  nerves.  Green  vegetables,  fruits,  and 
berries  furnish  the  acid  and  water  needed. 

In  grains  used  for  food,  the  proportions  of  useful  ele- 
ments are  varied ;  there  is  in  some  more  of  carbon  and  in 
others  more  of  nitrogen  and  phosphorus.  For  example, 
in  oats  there  is  more  of  nitrogen  for  the  muscles,  and  less 
carbon  for  the  lungs,  than  can  be  found  in  wheat.  In 
the  corn  of  the  North,  where  cold  weather  demands  fuel 
for  lungs  and  capillaries,  there  is  much  more  carbon  to 
supply  it  than  is  found  in  the  Southern  corn. 

From  these  statements  it  may  be  seen  that  one  of  the 
chief  mistakes  in  providing  food  for  families  has  been  in 


HEALTHFUL   FOOD.  125 

changing  the  proportions  of  the  elements  nature  has  fitted 
for  our  food.  Thus,  fine  wheat  is  deprived  by  bolting  of 
some  of  the  most  important  of  its  nourishing  elements, 
leaving  carbon  chiefly,  which,  after  supplying  fuel  for  the 
capillaries,  must,  if  in  excess,  be  sent  out  of  the  body ;  thus 
needlessly  taxing  all  the  excreting  organs.  So  milk,  which 
contains  all  the  elements  needed  by  the  body,  has  the  cream 
taken  out  and  used  for  butter,  which  again  is  chiefly  carbon. 
Then,  sugar  and  molasses,  cakes  and  candies,  are  chiefly 
carbon,  and  supply  but  very  little  of  other  nourishing  ele- 
ments, while  to  make  them  safe  much  exercise  in  cold  and 
pure  air  is  necessary.  And  yet  it  is  the  children  of  the 
rich,  housed  in  chambers  and  school-rooms  most  of  their 
time,  who  are  fed  with  these  dangerous  dainties,  thus 
weakening  their  constitutions,  and  inducing  fevers,  colds, 
and  many  other  diseases. 

The  proper  digestion  of  food  depends  on  the  wants  of 
the  body,  and  on  its  power  of  appropriating  the  aliment 
supplied.  The  best  of  food  can  not  be  properly  digested 
when  it  is  not  needed.  All  that  the  system  requires  will 
be  used,  and  the  rest  will  be  thrown  out  by  the  several  ex- 
creting organs,  which  thus  are  frequently  over-taxed,  and 
vital  forces  are  wasted.  Even  food  of  poor  quality  may 
digest  well  if  the  demands  of  the  system  are  urgent.  The 
way  to  increase  digestive  power  is  to  increase  the  demand 
for  food  by  pure  air  and  exercise  of  the  muscles,  quickening 
the  blood,  and  arousing  the  whole  system  to  a  more  rapid 
and  vigorous  rate  of  life. 

Rules  for  persons  in  full  health,  who  enjoy  pure  air  and 
exercise,  are  not  suitable  for  those  whose  digestive  powers 
are  feeble,  or  who  are  diseased.  On  the  other  hand,  many 
rules  for  invalids  are  not  needed  by  the  healthful,  while 
rules  for  one  class  of  invalids  will  not  avail  for  other  classes. 
Every  weak  stomach  has  its  peculiar  wants,  and  can  not 
furnish  guidance  for  others. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  intelligently  the  following 


126  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

general  principles  in  regard  to  the  proper  selection  ol 
food: 

Vegetable  and  animal  food  are  equally  healthful  if 
apportioned  to  the  given  circumstances. 

In  cold  weather,  carbonaceous  food,  such  as  butter, 
fats,  sugar,  molasses,  etc.,  can  be  used  more  safely  than  in 
warm  weather.  And  they  can  be  used  more  safely  by 
those  who  exercise  in  the  open  air  than  by  those  of  confined 
and  sedentary  habits. 

Students  who  need  food  with  little  carbon,  and  women 
who  live  in  the  house,  should  always  seek  coarse  bread, 
fruits,  and  lean  meats,  and  avoid  butter,  oils,  sugar,  and 
molasses,  and  articles  containing  them. 

Many  students  and  women  using  little  exercise  in  the 
open  air,  grow  thin  and  weak,  because  the  vital  powers  are 
exhausted  in  throwing  off  excess  of  food,  especially  of  the 
carbonaceous.  The  liver  is  especially  taxed  in  such  cases, 
being  unable  to  remove  all  the  excess  of  carbonaceous  mat- 
ter from  the  blood,  and  thus  "biliousness"  ensues,  par- 
ticularly on  the  approach  of  warm  weather,  when  the  air 
brings  less  oxygen  than  in  cold. 

It  is  found,  by  experiment,  that  the  supply  of  gastric 
juice,  furnished  from  the  blood  by  the  arteries  of  the 
stomach,  is  proportioned,  not  to  the  amount  of  food  put 
into  the  stomach,  but  to  the  wants  of  the  body ;  so  that  it 
is  possible  to  put  much  more  into  the  stomach  than 
can  be  digested.  To  guide  and  regulate  in  this  matter,  the 
sensation  called  hunger  is  provided.  In  a  healthy  state  ol 
the  body,  as  soon  as  the  blood  has  lost  its  nutritive  supplies, 
the  craving  of  hunger  is  felt,  and  then,  if  the  food  is  suit- 
able, and  is  taken  in  the  proper  manner,  this  sensation 
ceases  as  soon  as  the  stomach  has  received  enough  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  system.  But  our  benevolent  Creator,  in 
this,  as  in  our  other  duties,  has  connected  enjoyment  with 
the  operation  needful  to  sustain  our  bodies.  In  addition 
to  the  allaying  of  hunger,  the  gratification  of  the  palate  is 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  127 

secured  by  the  immense  variety  of  food,  some  articles  of 
which  are  far  more  agreeable  than  others.  » 

This  arrangement  of  Providence,  designed  for  our  happi- 
ness, has  become,  either  through  ignorance,  or  want  of 
self-control,  the  chief  cause  of  the  many  diseases  and  suffer- 
ings which  afflict  those  classes  who  have  the  means  of  seek- 
ing a  variety  to  gratify  the  palate.  If  mankind  had  only 
one  article  of  food,  and  only  water  to  drink,  though  they 
would  have  less  enjoyment  in  eating,  they  would  never  be 
tempted  to  put  any  more  into  the  stomach  than  the  calls  of 
hunger  require.  But  the  customs  of  society,  which  present 
an  incessant  change,  and  a  great  variety  of  food,  with  those 
various  condiments  which  stimulate  appetite,  lead  almost 
every  person  very  frequently  to  eat  merely  to  gratify  the 
palate,  after  the  stomach  has  been  abundantly  supplied, 
so  that  hunger  has  ceased. 

When  too  great  a  supply  of  food  is  put  into  the  stomach, 
the  gastric  juice  dissolves  only  that  portion  which  the  wants 
of  the  system  demand.  Most  of  the  remainder  is  ejected, 
in  an  unprepared  state ;  the  absorbents  take  portions  of  it 
into  the  system ;  and  all  the  various  functions  of  the  body, 
which  depend  on  the  ministries  of  the  blood,  are  thus 
gradually  and  imperceptibly  injured.  Yery  often,  intem- 
perance in  eating  produces  immediate  results,  such  as  colic, 
headaches,  pains  of  indigestion,  and  vertigo. 

But  the  more  general  result  is  a  gradual  undermining  of 
all  parts  of  the  human  frame ;  thus  imperceptibly  shorten- 
ing life,  by  so  weakening  the  constitution,  that  it  is  ready 
to  yield,  at  every  point,  to  any  uncommon  risk  or  exposure. 
Thousands  and  thousands  are  passing  out  of  the  world, 
from  diseases  occasioned  by  exposures  which  a  healthy  con- 
stitution could  meet  without  any  danger.  It  is  owing  to  these 
considerations,  that  it  becomes  the  duty  of  every  woman, 
who  has  the  responsibility  of  providing  food  for  a  family, 
to  avoid  a  variety  of  tempting  dishes.  It  is  a  much  safer 
rule,  to  have  only  one  kind  of  healthy  food,  for  each  meal. 


128 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'' S  HOME. 


Fig.  56. 


than  the  too  abundant  variety  which  is  often  met  at  the 
tables  of  almost  all  classes  in  this  country.  When  there  is 
to  be  any  variety  of  dishes,  they  ought  not  to  be  successive, 
but  so  arranged  as  to  give  the  opportunity  of  selection. 
How  often  is  it  the  case,  that  persons,  by  the  appearance 
of  a  favorite  article,  are  tempted  to  eat  merely  to  gratify 
the  palate,  when  the  stomach  is  already  adequately  supplied. 
All  such  intemperance  wears  on  the  constitution,  and 
shortens  life.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  excess  in 
eating  produces  a  morbid  appetite,  which  must  constantly 
be  denied. 

But  the  organization  of  the  digestive  organs  demands, 
not  only  that  food  should  be  taken  in  proper  quantities, 
but  that  it  be  taken  at  proper  times. 

Fig.  56  shows  one 
important  feature  of 
the  digestive  organs 
relating  to  this  point. 
The  part  marked  L  M 
shows  the  muscles  of 
the  inner  coat  of  the 
stomach,  which  run 
in  one  direction,  and 
C  M  shows  the  mus- 
cles of  the  outer  coat, 
running  in  another 
direction. 

As  soon  as  the  food  enters  the  stomach,  the  muscles  are 
excited  by  the  nerves,  and  the  peristaltic  motion  commences. 
This  is  a  powerful  and  constant  exercise  of  the  muscles  of 
the  stomach,  which  continues  until  the  process  of  digestion 
is  complete:  During  this  time  the  blood  is  withdrawn  from 
other  parts  of  the  system,  to  supply  the  demands  of'  the 
stomach,  which  is  laboring  hard  with  all  its  muscles. 
"When  this  motion  ceases,  and  the  digested  food  has  gradu- 
ally passed  out,  nature  requires  that  the  stomach  should 


HEALTHFUL   FOOD.  129 

have  a  period  of  repose.  And  if  another  meal  be  eaten 
immediately  after  one  is  digested,  the  stomach  is  set  to 
work  again  before  it  has  had  time  to  rest,  and  before  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  gastric  juice  is  provided. 

The  general  rule,  then,  is,  that  three  hours  be  given  to 
the  stomach  for  labor,  and  two  for  rest ;  and  in  obedience 
to  this,  five  hours,  at  least,  ought  to  elapse  between  every 
two  regular  meals.  In  cases  where  exercise  produces  a  flow 
of  perspiration,  more  food  is  needed  to  supply  the  loss; 
and  strong  laboring  men  may  safely  eat  as  often  as  they 
feel  the  want  of  food.  So,  young  and  healthy  children,  who 
gambol  and  exercise  much  and  whose  bodies  grow  fast,  may 
have  a  more  frequent  supply  of  food.  But,  as  a  general 
rule,  meals  should  be  five  hours  apart,  and  eating  between 
meals  avoided.  There  is  nothing  more  unsafe,  and  wearing 
to  the  constitution,  than  a  habit  of  eating  at  any  time 
merely  to  gratify  the  palate.  When  a  tempting  article  is 
presented,  every  person  should  exercise  sufficient  self-denial 
to  wait  till  the  proper  time  for  eating  arrives.  Children, 
as  well  as  grown  persons,  are  often  injured  by  eating  be- 
tween their  regular  meals,  thus  weakening  the  stomach  by 
not  affording  it  any  time  for  rest. 

In  deciding  as  to  quantity  of  food,  there  is  one  great  diffi- 
culty to  be  met  by  a  large  portion  of  the  community.  The 
exercise  of  every  part  of  the  body  is  necessary  to  its  health 
and  perfection.  The  bones,  the  muscles,  the  nerves,  the 
organs  of  digestion  and  respiration,  and  the  skin,  all  de- 
mand exercise,  in  order 'properly  to  perform  their  functions. 
When  the  muscles  of  the  body  are  called  into  action,  all  the 
blood-vessels  entwined  among  them  are  frequently  com- 
pressed. As  the  veins  ha,ve  valves  so  contrived  that  the 
blood  can  not  run  back,  this  compression  hastens  it  for- 
ward toward  the  heart;  which  is  immediately  put  in 
quicker  motion,  to  send  it  into  the  lungs ;  and  they,  also, 
are  thus  stimulated  to  more  rapid  action,  which  is  the  cause 
of  that  panting  which  active  exercise  always  occasions.  The 


130  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME, 

blood  thus  courses  with  greater  celerity  through  the  body, 
and  sooner  loses  its  nourishing  properties.  Then  the  sto- 
mach issues  its  mandate  of  hunger,  and  a  new  supply  of 
food  must  be  furnished. 

Thus  it  appears,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  quantity  of 
food  actually  needed  by  the  body  depends  on  the  amount 
of  muscular  exercise  taken.  A  laboring  man,  in  the  open 
fields,  probably  throws  off  from  his  skin  and  lungs  a  much 
larger  amount  than  a  person  of  sedentary  pursuits.  In 
consequence  of  this,  he  demands  a  greater  amount  of  food 
and  drink. 

Those  persons  who  keep  their  bodies  in  a  state  of  health 
by  sufficient  exercise  can  always  be  guided  by  the  calls  of 
hunger.  They  can  eat  when  they  feel  hungry,  and  stop 
when  hunger  ceases ;  and  thus  they  will  calculate  exactly 
right.  But  the  difficulty  is,  that  a  large  part  of  the  com- 
munity, especially  women,  are  so  inactive  in  their  habits 
that  they  seldom  feel  the  calls  of  hunger.  They  habitually 
eat,  merely  to  gratify  the  palate.  This  produces  such  a 
state  of  the  system  that  they  lose  the  guide  which  Nature 
has  provided.  They  are  not  called  tu  eat  by  hunger,  nor 
admonished,  by  its  cessation,  when  to  stop.  In  consequence 
of  this,  such  persons  eat  what  pleases  the  palate,  till  they 
feel  no  more  inclination  for  the  article.  It  is  probable  that 
three  fourths  of  the  women  in  the  wealthier  circles  sit 
down  to  each  meal  without  any  feeling  of  hunger,  and  eat 
merely  on  .account  of  the  gratification  thus  afforded  them. 
Such  persons  find  their  appetite  to  depend  almost  solely 
upon  the  kind  of  food  on  the  table.  This  is  not  the  case 
with  those  who  take  the  exercise  which  Nature  demands. 
They  approach  their  meals  in  such  a  state  that  almost  any 
kind  of  food  is  acceptable. 

The  question  then  arises,  How  are  persons,  who  have  lost 
the  guide  which  Nature  has  provided,  to  determine  as  to  the 
proper  amount  of  food  they  shall  take  ? 

The  best  method  is  for    several    days  to    take  their 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  131 

ordinary  exercise  and  eat  only  one  or  two  articles  of 
simple  food,  such  as  bread  and  milk,  or  bread  a-nd  butter 
with  cooked  fruit,  or  lean  meat  with  bread  and  vegetables, 
and  at  the  same  time  eat  less  than  the  appetite  demands. 
Then  on  the  following  two  days,  take  just  enough  to 
satisfy  the  appetite,  and  on  the  third  day  notice  the  quan- 
tity which  satisfies.  After  this,  decide  before  eating  that 
only  this  amount  of  simple  food  shall  be  taken. 

Persons  who  have  a  strong  constitution,  and  take  much 
exercise,  may  eat  almost  any  thing  with  apparent  impunity ; 
but  young  children  who  are  forming  their  constitutions,  and 
persons  who  are  delicate,  and  who  take  but  little  exercise, 
are  very  dependent  for  health  on  a  proper  selection  of  food. 

It  is  found  that  there  are  some  kinds  of  food  which  afford 
nutriment  to  the  blood,  and  do  not  produce  any  other  effect 
on  the  system.  There  are  other  kinds,  which  are  not  only 
nourishing,  but  stimulating,  so  that  they  quicken  the  func- 
tions of  the  organs  on  which  they  operate.  The  condiments 
used  in  cookery,  such  as  pepper,  mustard,  and  spices,  are  of 
this  nature.  There  are  certain  states  of  the  system  when 
these  stimulants  may  be  beneficial ;  such  cases  can  only  be 
pointed  out  by  medical  men. 

Persons  in  perfect  health,  and  especially  young  children, 
never  receive  any  benefit  from  such  kind  of  food ;  and  just 
in  proportion  as  condiments  operate  to  quicken  the  labors 
of  the  internal  organs,  they  tend  to  wear  down  their  powers. 
A  person  who  thus  keeps  the  body  working  under  an  un- 
natural excitement,  live  faster  than  Nature  designed,  and 
the  constitution  is  worn  out  just  so  much  the  sooner.  A 
woman,  therefore,  should  provide  dishes  for  her  family  which 
are  free  from'  these  stimulating  condiments. 

It  is  also  found,  by  experience,  that  the  lean  part  of  ani- 
mal food  is  more  stimulating  than  vegetable.  This  is  the 
reason  why,  in  cases  of  fevers  or  inflammations,  medical 
men  forbid  the  use  of  meat.  A  person  who  lives  chiefly  on 
animal  food  is  under  a  higher  degree  of  stimulus  than  if  hia 


132  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

food  was  chiefly  composed  of  vegetable  substances.  His  blood 
will  flow  faster,  and  all  the  functions  of  his  body  will  be 
quickened.  This  makes  it  important  to  secure  a  proper  pro- 
portion of  animal  and  vegetable  diet.  Some  medical  men 
suppose  that  an  exclusively  vegetable  diet  is  proved,  by  the 
experience  of  many  individuals,  to  be  fully  sufficient  to  nou- 
rish the  body ;  and  bring,  as  evidence,  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  strongest  and  most  robust  men  in  the  world  are  those 
who  are  trained,  from  infancy,  exclusively  on  vegetable  food. 
From  this  they  infer  that  life  will  be  shortened  just  in  pro- 
portion as  the  diet  is  changed  to  more  stimulating  articles ; 
and  that,  all  other  things  being  equal,  children  will  have  a 
better  chance  of  health  and  long  life  if  they  are  brought 
up  solely  on  vegetable  food. 

But,  though  this  is  not  the  common  opinion  of  medical 
men,  they  all  agree  that,  in  America,  far  too  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  diet  consists  of  animal  food.  As  a  nation,  the 
Americans  are  proverbial  for  the  gross  and  luxurious  diet 
with  which  they  load  their  tables;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  general  health  of  the  nation  would  be  in- 
creased by  a  change  in  our  customs  in  this  respect.  To  take 
meat  but  once  a  day,  and  this  in  small  quantities,  compared 
with  the  common  practice,  is  a  rule,  the  observance  of  which 
would  probably  greatly  reduce  the  amount  of  fevers,  erup- 
tions, headaches,  bilious  attacks,  and  the  many  other  ail- 
ments which  are  produced  or  aggravated  by  too  gross  a  diet. 

The  celebrated  Roman  physician,  Baglivi,  (who,  from 
practicing  extensively  among  Roman  Catholics,  had  ample 
opportunities  to  observe,)  mentions  that,  in  Italy,  an  un- 
usual number  of  people  recover  their  health  in  the  forty  days 
of  Lent,  in  consequence  of  the  lower  diet  which  is  required 
as  a  religious  duty.  An  American  physician  remarks,  "  For 
every  reeling  drunkard  that  disgraces  our  country,  it  con- 
tains one  hundred  gluttons — persons,  I  mean,  who  eat  to 
excess,  and  suffer  in  consequence."  Another  distinguished 
physician  says,  "  I  believe  that  every  stomach,  not  actually 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  133 

impaired  bj  organic  disease,  will  perform  its  functions,  if 
it  receives  reasonable  attention ;  and  when  we  perceive  the 
manner  in  which  diet  is  generally  conducted,  both  in  regard 
to  quantity  and  variety  of  articles  of  food  and  drink,  which 
are  mixed  up  in  one  heterogeneous  mass — instead  of  being 
astonished  at  the  prevalence  of  indigestion,  our  wonder  must 
rather  be  that,  in  such  circumstances,  any  stomach  is  capa- 
ble of  digesting  at  all." 

In  regard  to  articles  which  are  the  most  easily  digested, 
only  general  rules  can  be  given.  Tender  meats  are  digest- 
ed more  readily  than  those  which  are  tough,  or  than  many 
kinds  of  vegetable  food.  The  farinaceous  articles,  such  as 
rice,  flour,  corn,  potatoes,  and  the  like,  are  the  most  nutri- 
tious, and  most  easily  digested.  The  popular  notion,  that 
meat  is  more  nourishing  than  bread,  is  a  great  mistake. 
Good  bread  contains  more  nourishment  than  butcher's  meat. 
The  meat  is  more  stimulating,  and  for  this  reason  is  more 
readily  digested. 

A  perfectly  healthy  stomach  can  digest  almost  any  health- 
ful food ;  but  when  the  digestive  powers  are  weak,  every 
stomach  has  its  peculiarities,  and  what  is  good  for  one  is 
hurtful  to  another.  In  such  cases,  experiment  alone  can 
decide  which  are  the  most  digestible  articles  of  food.  A 
person  whose  food  troubles  him  must  deduct  one  article 
after  another,  till  he  learns,  by  experience,  which  is  the  best 
for  digestion.  Much  evil  has  been  done,  by  assuming  that 
the  powers  of  one  stomach  are  to  be  made  the  rule  in  regu- 
lating every  other. 

The  most  unhealthful  kinds  of  food  are  those  which  are 
made  so  by  bad  cooking ;  such  as  sour  and  heavy  bread, 
cakes,  pie-crust,  and  other  dishes  consisting  of  fat  mixed 
and  cooked  with  flour.  Eancid  butter  and  high-seasoned 
food  are  equally  unwholesome.  The  fewer  mixtures  there 
are  in  cooking,  the  more  healthful  is  the  food  likely  to  be. 

There  is  one  caution  as  to  the  mode  of  eating  which  seems 
peculiarly  needful  to  Americans.  It  is  indispensable  to  good 


134  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

digestion,  that  food  be  well  chewed  and  taken  slowly.  It 
needs  to  be  thoroughly  chewed  and  mixed  with  saliva,  in 
order  to  prepare  it  for  the  action  of  the  gastric  juice,  which, 
by  the  peristaltic  motion,  will  be  thus  brought  into  contact 
with  every  one  of  the  minute  portions.  It  has  been  found 
that  a  solid  lump  of  food  requires  much  more  time  and  la- 
bor of  the  stomach  for  digestion  than  divided  substances. 

It  has  also  been  found,  that  as  each  bolus,  or  mouthful, 
enters  the  stomach,  the  latter  closes,  until  the  portion  receiv- 
ed has  had  some  time  to  move  around  and  combine  with  the 
gastric  juice,  and  that  the  orifice  of  the  stomach  resists  the 
entrance  of  any  more  till  this  is  accomplished.  But,  if  the 
eater  persists  in  swallowing  fast,  the  stomach  yields ;  the  food 
is  then  poured  in  more  rapidly  than  the  organ  can  perform 
its  duty  of  preparative  digestion ;  and  evil  results  are  sooner 
or  later  developed.  This  exhibits  the  folly  of  those  hasty 
meals,  so  common  to  travelers  and  to  men  of  business,  and 
shows  why  children  should  be  taught  to  eat  slowly. 

After  taking  a  full  meal,  it  is  very  important  to  health 
that  no  great  bodily  or  mental  exertion  be  made  till  the 
labor  of  the  stomach  is  over.  Intense  mental  effort  draws 
the  blood  to  the  head,  and  muscular  exertions  draw  it  to 
the  muscles ;  and  in  consequence  of  this,  the  stomach  loses 
the  supply  which  it  requires  when  performing  its  office. 
When  the  blood  with  its  stimulating  effects  is  thus  with- 
drawn from  the  stomach,  the  adequate  supply  of  gastric 
juice  is  not  afforded,  and  indigestion  is  the  result.  The 
heaviness  which  follows  a  full  meal  is  the  indication  which 
Nature  gives  of  the  need  of  quiet.  When  the  meal  is  mod- 
erate, a  sufficient  quantity  of  gastric  juice  is  exuded  in  an 
hour,  or  an  hour  and  a  half ;  after  which,  labor  of  body  and 
mind  may  safely  be  resumed. 

WTien  undigested  food  remains  in  the  stomach,  and  is  at 
last  thrown  out  into  the  bowels,  it  proves  an  irritating  sub- 
stance, producing  an  inflamed  state  in  the  lining  of  the  sto- 
mach and  other  organs. 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  135 

It  is  found  that  the  stomach  has  the  power  of  gradually 
accommodating  its  digestive  powers  to  the  food  it  habitually 
receives.  Thus,  animals  which  live  on  vegetables  can  gra- 
dually become  accustomed  to  animal  food ;  and  the  reverse 
is  equally  true.  Thus,  too,  the  human  stomach  can  even- 
tually accomplish  the  digestion  of  some  kinds  of  food,  which, 
at  first,  were  indigestible. 

But  any  changes  of  this  sort  should  be  gradual ;  as  those 
which  are  sudden  are  trying  to  the  powers  of  the  stomach, 
by  furnishing  matter  for  which  its  gastric  juice  is  not  pre- 
pared. 

Extremes  of  heat  or  cold  are  injurious  to  the  process  of 
digestion.  Taking  hot  food  or  drink,  habitually,  tends  to 
debilitate  all  the  organs  thus  needlessly  excited.  In  using 
cold  substances,  it  is  found  that  a  certain  degree  of  warmth 
in  the  stomach  is  indispensable  to  their  digestion ;  so  that, 
when  the  gastric  juice  is  cooled  below  this  temperature,  it 
ceases  to  act.  Indulging  in  large  quantities  of  cold  drinks, 
or  eating  ice-creams,  after  a  meal,  tends  to  reduce  the  tem- 
perature of  the  stomach,  and  thus  to  stop  digestion.  This 
shows  the  folly  of  those  refreshments,  in  convivial  meetings, 
where  the  guests  are  tempted  to  load  the  stomach  with  a 
variety  such  as  would  require  the  stomach  of  a  stout  farmer 
to  digest;  and  then  to  wind  up  with  ice-creams,  thus 
lessening  whatever  ability  might  otherwise  have  existed  to 
digest  the  heavy  load.  The  fittest  temperature  for  drinks, 
if  taken  when  the  food  is  in  the  digesting  process,  is  blood 
heat.  Cool  drinks,  and  even  ice,  can  be  safely  taken  at 
other  times,  if  not  in  excessive  quantity.  When  the  thirst 
is  excessive,  or  the  body  weakened  by  fatigue,  or  when  in  a 
state  of  perspiration,  large  quantities  of  cold  drinks  are  in- 
jurious. 

Fluids  taken  into  the  stomach  are  not  subject  to  the  slow 
process  of  digestion,  but  are  immediately  absorbed  and  car- 
ried into  the  blood.  This  is  the  reason  why  liquid  nourish- 
ment, more  speedily  than  solid  food,  restores  from  exhaustion. 


136  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

The  minute  vessels  of  the  stomach  absorb  its  fluids,  which 
are  carried  into  the  blood,  just  as  the  minute  extremities  of 
the  arteries  open  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  stomach,  and 
there  exude  the  gastric  juice  from  the  blood. 

When  food  is  chiefly  liquid,  (soup,  for  example,)  the  fluid 
part  is  rapidly  absorbed.  The  solid  parts  remain,  to  be  act- 
ed on  by  the  gastric  juice.  In  the  case  of  St.  Martin,*  in 
fifty  minutes  after  taking  soup,  the  fluids  were  absorbed, 
and  the  remainder  was  even  thicker  than  is  usual  after  eat- 
ing solid  food.  This  is  the  reason  why  soups  are  deemed 
bad  for  weak  stomachs ;  as  this  residuum  is  more  difficult  of 
digestion  than  ordinary  food. 

Highly-concentrated  food,  having  much  nourishment  in 
a  small  bulk,  is  not  favorable  to  digestion,  because  it  can  not 
'  be  properly  acted  on  by  the  muscular  contractions  of  the 
stomach,  and  is  not  so  minutely  divided  as  to  enable  the 
gastric  juice  to  act  properly.  This  is  the  reason  why  a  cer- 
tain bulk  of  food  is  needful  to  good  digestion;  and  why 
those  people  who  live  on  whale-oil  and  other  highly  nou- 
rishing food,  in  cold  climates,  mix  vegetables  and  even  saw- 
dust with  it  to  make  it  more  acceptable  and  digestible.  So 
in  civilized  lands,  fruits  and  vegetables  are  mixed  with  more 
highly  concentrated  nourishment.  For  this  reason  also, 
soups,  jellies,  and  arrow-root  should  have  bread  or  crackers 
mixed  with  them.  This  affords  another  reason  why  coarse 
bread,  of  unbolted  wheat,  so  often  proves  beneficial.  Where, 
from  inactive  habits  or  other  causes,  the  bowels  become  con- 


*  The  individual  here  referred  to— Alexis  St.  Martin — was  a  young 
Canadian,  eighteen  years  of  age,  of  a  good  constitution  and  robust  health, 
who,  in  1822,  was  accidentally  wounded  by  the  discharge  of  a  musket  which 
carried  away  a  part  of  the  ribs,  lacerated  one  of  the  lobes  of  the  lungs, 
and  perforated  the  stomach,  making  a  large  aperture,  which  never  closed ; 
and  which  enabled  Dr.  Beaumont  (a  surgeon  of  the  American  army,  sta- 
tioned at  Michilimackinac,  under  whose  care  the  patient  was  placed)  to 
witness  all  the  processes  of  digestion  and  other  functions  of  the  body  for 
several  years.  ^ 


HEALTHFUL  FOOD.  137 

stipated  and  sluggish,  this  kind  of  food  proves  the  appro- 
priate remedy. 

One  fact  on  this  subject  is  worthy  of  notice.  In  Eng- 
land, under  the  administration  of  William  Pitt,  for  two 
years  or  more  there  was  such  a  scarcity  of  wheat  that,  to 
make  it  hold  out  longer,  Parliament  passed  a  law  that 
the  army  should  have  all  their  bread  made  of  unbolted 
flour.  The  result  was,  that  the  health  of  the  soldiers  im- 
proved so  much  as  to  be  a  subject  of  surprise  to  themselves, 
the  Officers,  and  the  physicians.  These  last  came  out  pub- 
licly and  declared  that  the  soldiers  never  before  were  so  ro- 
bust and  healthy ;  and  that  disease  had  nearly  disappeared 
from  the  army.  The  civic  physicians  joined  and  pronounced 
it  the  healthiest  bread ;  and  for  a  time  schools,  families,  and 
public  institutions  used  it  almost  exclusively.  Even  the 
nobility,  convinced  by  these  facts,  adopted  it  for  their  com- 
mon diet,  and  the  fashion  continued  a  long  time  after 
the  scarcity  ceased,  until  more  luxurious  habits  resumed 
their  sway. 

"We  thus  see  why  children  should  not  have  cakes  and  can- 
dies allowed  them  between  meals.  Besides  being  largely 
carbonaceous,  these  are  highly  concentrated  nourishments, 
and  should  be  eaten  with  more  bulky  and  less  nourishing 
substances.  The  most  indigestible  of  all  kinds  of  food  are 
fatty  and  oily  substances,  if  heated.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  pie-crust  and  articles  boiled  and  fried  in  fat  or  butter 
are  deemed  not  so  healthful  as  other  food. 

The  following,  then,  may  be  put  down  as  the  causes  of  a 
debilitated  constitution  from  the  misuse  of  food.  Eating 
too  much,  eating  too  often,  eating  too  fast,  eating  food  and 
condiments  that  are  too  stimulating,  eating  food  that  is  too 
warm  or  too  cold,  eating  food  that  is  highly  concentrated, 
without  a  proper  admixture  of  less  nourishing  matter,  and 
eating  hot  food  that  is  difficult  of  digestion. 


HEALTHFUL   DRINKS. 

THERE  is  no  direction  in  which  a  woman  more  needs  both 
scientific  knowledge  and  moral  force  than  in  using  her 
influence  to  control  her  family  in  regard  to  stimulating 
beverages. 

It  is  a  point  fully  established  by  experience  that  the  full 
development  of  the  human  body  and  the  vigorous  exercise 
of  all  its  functions  can  be  secured  without  the  use  of  stimu- 
lating drinks.  It  is,  therefore,  perfectly  safe  to  bring  up 
children  never  to  use  them,  no  hazard  being  incurred  by 
such  a  course. 

It  is  also  found  by  experience  that  there  are  two  evils  in- 
curred by  the  use  of  stimulating  drinks.  The  first  is,  their 
positive  effect  on  the  human  system.  Their  peculiarity  con- 
sists in  so  exciting  the  nervous  system  that  all  the  functions 
of  the  body  are  accelerated,  and  the  fluids  are  caused  to 
move  quicker  than  at  their  natural  speed.  This  increased 
motion  of  the  animal  fluids  always  produces  an  agreeable 
effect  on  the  mind.  The  intellect  is  invigorated,  the  im- 
agination is  excited,  the  spirits  are  enlivened ;  and  these 
effects  are  so  agreeable  that  all  mankind,  after  having  once 
experienced  them,  feel  a  great  desire  for  their  repetition. 

But  this  temporary  invigoration  of  the  system  is  always 
followed  by  a  diminution  of  the  powers  of  the  stimulated 
organs  ;  so  that,  though  in  all  cases  this  reaction  may  not  be 
perceptible,  it  is  invariably  the  result.  It  may  be  set  down 
as  the  unchangeable  rule  of  physiology,  that  stimulating 
drinks  deduct  from  the  powers  of  the  constitution  in  exact- 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS.  139 

ly  the  proportion  in  which  they  operate  to  produce  tempo- 
rary invigoration. 

The  second  evil  is  the  temptation  which  always  attends 
the  use  of  stimulants.  Their  effect  on  the  system  is  so  agree- 
able, and  the  evils  resulting  are  so  imperceptible  and  distant, 
that  there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  increase  such  excitement 
both  in  frequency  and  power.  And  the  more  the  system  is 
thus  reduced  in  strength,  the  more  craving  is  the  desire  for 
that  which  imparts  a  temporary  invigoration.  This  process 
of  increasing  debility  and  increasing  craving  for  the  stimu- 
lus that  removes  it,  often  goes  to  such  an  extreme  that  the 
passion  is  perfectly  uncontrollable,  and  mind  and  body  perish 
under  this  baleful  habit. 

In  this  country  there  are  three  forms  in^which  the  use  of 
such  stimulants  is  common ;  namely,  alcoholic  drinks,  opi- 
um mixtures,  and  tobacco.  These  are  all  alike  in  the  main 
peculiarity  of  imparting  that  extra  stimulus  to  the  system 
which  tends  to  exhaust  its  powers. 

Multitudes  in  this  nation  are  in  the  habitual  use  of  some 
one  of  these  stimulants  ;  and  each  person  defends  the  indul- 
gence by  certain  arguments : 

First,  that  the  desire  for  stimulants  is  a  natural  propensity 
implanted  in  man's  nature,  as  is  manifest  from  the  universal 
tendency  to  such  indulgences  in  every  nation.  From  this, 
it  is  inferred  that  it  is  an  innocent  desire,  which  ought  to  be 
gratified  to  some  extent,  and  that  the  aim  should  be  to  keep 
it  within  the  limits  of  temperance,  instead  of  attempting  to 
exterminate  a  natural  propensity. 

This  is  an  argument  which,  if  true,  makes  it  equally  pro- 
per for  not  only  men,  but  women  and  children,  to  use  opium, 
brandy,  or  tobacco  as  stimulating  principles,  provided  they 
are  used  temperately.  But  if  it  be  granted  that  perfect 
health  and  strength  can  be  gained  and  secured  without  these 
stimulants,  and  that  their  peculiar  effect  is  to  diminish  the 
power  of  the  system  in  exactly  the  same  proportion  as  they 
stimulate  it,  then  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  temperate  use, 


140  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

unless  they  are  so  diluted  as  to  destroy  any  stimulating  power ; 
and  in  this  form  they  are  seldom  desired. 

The  other  argument  for  their  use  is,  that  they  are  among 
the  good  things  provided  by  the  Creator  for  our  gratifica- 
tion ;  that,  like  all  other  blessings,  they  are  exposed  to  abuse 
and  excess  ;  and  that  we  should  rather  seek  to  regulate  their 
use  than  to  banish  them  entirely. 

This  argument  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  they  are, 
like  healthful  foods  and  drinks,  necessary  to  life  and  health, 
and  injurious  only  by  excess.  But  this  is  not  true ;  for  when- 
ever they  are  used  in  any  such  strength  as  to  be  a  gratifica- 
tion, they  operate  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  as  stimulants ; 
and  to  just  such  extent  they  wear  out  the  powers  of  the 
constitution  ;  and  it  is  abundantly  proved  that  they  are  not, 
like  food  and  drink,  necessary  to  health.  Such  articles  are 
designed  for  medicine  and  not  for  common  use.  There  can 
be  no  argument  framed  to  defend  the  use  of  one  of  them 
which  will  not  justify  women  and  children  in  most  danger- 
ous indulgences. 

There  are  some  facts  recently  revealed  by  the  microscope 
in  regard  to  alcoholic  drinks,  which  every  woman  should 
understand  and  regard.  It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous 
chapter  that  every  act  of  mind,  either  by  thought,  feeling, 
or  choice,  causes  the  destruction  of  certain  cells  in  the  brain 
and  nerves.  It  now  is  proved  by  microscopic  science*  that 
the  kind  of  nutrition  furnished  to  the  brain  by  the  blood  to 
a  certain  extent  decides  future  feelings,  thoughts,  and  voli- 
tions. The  cells  of  the  brain  not  only  abstract  from  the 
blood  the  healthful  nutrition,  but  also  are  affected  in  shape, 
size,  color,  and  action  by  unsuitable  elements  in  the  blood. 
This  is  especially  the  case  when  alcohol  is  taken  into  the 
stomach,  from  whence  it  is  always  carried  to  the  brain.  The 
consequence  is,  that  it  affects  the  nature  and  action  of  the 

*  For  these  statements  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Maudsley,  a  recent 
writer  on  Microscopic  Physiology. 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS.  141 

brain-cells,  until  a  habit  is  formed  which  is  automatic;  that 
is,  the  mind  loses  the  power  of  controlling  the  brain  in  its 
development  of  thoughts,  feelings,  and  choices  as  it  would 
in  the  natural  state,  and  is  itself  controlled  by  the  brain. 
In  this  condition  a  real  disease  of  the  brain  is  created,  called 
oino-mariia,  (see  Glossary})  and  the  only  remedy  is  total 
abstinence,  and  that  for  a  long  period,  from  the  alcoholic 
poison.  And  what  makes  the  danger  more  fearful  is,  that  the 
brain-cells  never  are  so  renewed  but  that  this  pernicious 
stimulus  will  bring  back  the  disease  in  full  force,  so  that  a 
man  once  subject  to  it  is  never  safe  except  by  maintaining 
perpetual  and  total  abstinence  from  every  kind  of  alcoholic 
drink.  Dr.  Day,  who  for  many  years  has  had  charge  of  an 
inebriate  asylum,  states  that  he  witnessed  the  dissection  of  the 
brain  of  a  man  once  an  inebriate,  but  for  many  years  in 
practice  of  total  abstinence,  and  found  its  cells  still  in 
the  weak  and  unnatural  state  produced  by  earlier  indul- 
gences. 

There  has  unfortunately  been  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  medical  men  as  to  the  use  of  alcohol.  Liebig,  the 
celebrated  writer  on  animal  chemistry,  having  found  that 
both  sugar  and  alcohol  were  heat-producing  articles  of  food, 
framed  a  theory  that  alcohol  is  burnt  in  the  lungs,  giving 
off  carbonic  acid  and  water,  and  thus  serving  to  warm  the 
body.  But  modern  science  has  proved  that  it  is  in  the  cap- 
illaries that  animal  heat  is  generated,  and  it  is  believed  that 
alcohol  lessens  instead  of  increasing  the  power  of  the  body  to 
bear  the  cold.  Sir  John  Ross,  in  his  Arctic  voyage,  proved 
by  his  own  experience  and  that  of  his  men  that  cold-water 
drinkers  could  bear  cold  longer  and  were  stronger  than  any 
who  used  alcohol. 

Carpenter,  a  standard  writer  on  physiology,  says  the  ob- 
jection to  a  habitual  use  of  even  small  quantities  of  alcoholic 
drinks  is,  that  "  they  are  universally  admitted  to  possess  a 
poisonous  character,"  and  "  tend  to  produce  a  morbid  condi- 
tion of  body ;"  while  "  the  capacity  for  enduring  extremes 


142  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

of  heat  and  cold,  or  of  mental  or  bodily  labor,  is  diminished 
rather  than  increased  by  their  habitual  employment." 

Prof.  J.  Bigelow,  of  Harvard  University,  says,  "Alcohol 
is  highly  stimulating,  heating,  and  intoxicating,  and  its  effects 
are  so  fascinating  that  when  once  experienced  there  is  dan- 
ger that  the  desire  for  them  may  be  perpetuated." 

Dr.  Bell  and  Dr.  Churchill,  both  high  medical  authori- 
ties, especially  in  lung  disease,  for  which  whisky  is  often 
recommended,  come  to  the  conclusion  that "  the  opinion  that 
alcoholic  liquors  have  influence  in  preventing  the  deposition 
of  tubercle  is  destitute  of  any  foundation  ;  on  the  contrary, 
their  use  predisposes  to  tubercular  deposition."  And  "  where 
tubercle  exists,  alcohol  has  no  effect  in  modifying  the  usual 
course,  neither  does  it  modify  the  morbid  effects  on  the 
system." 

Prof.  Youmans,  of  New-York,  says  :  "  It  has  been  demon- 
strated that  alcoholic  drinks  prevent  the  natural  changes 
in  the  blood,  and  obstruct  the  nutritive  and  reparative  func- 
tions." He  adds, "  Chemical  experiments  have  demonstrated 
that  the  action  of  alcohol  on  the  digestive  fluid  is  to  destroy 
its  active  principle,  the  pepsin,  thus  confirming  the  observa- 
tions of  physiologists,  that  its  use  gives  rise  to  serious  disor- 
ders of  the  stomach  and  malignant  aberration  of  the  whole 
economy." 

"We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  the  great  principles  of 
science,  common  sense,  and  religion,  which  should  guide 
every  woman  who  has  any  kind  of  influence  or  responsibil- 
ity on  this  subject. 

It  is  allowed  by  all  medical  men  that  pure  water  is  per- 
fectly healthful  and  supplies  all  the  liquid  needed  by  the 
body ;  and  also  that  by  proper  means,  which  ordinarily  are 
in  the  reach  of  all,  water  can  be  made  sufficiently  pure. 

It  is  allowed  by  all  that  milk,  and  the  juices  of  fruits,  when 
taken  into  the  stomach,  furnish  water  that  is  always  pure, 
and  that  our  bread  and  vegetable  food  also  supply  it 
in  large  quantities.  There  are  besides  a  great  variety  of 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS.  143 

agreeable  and  healthful  beverages,  made  from  the  juices  of 
fruit,  containing  no  alcohol,  and  agreeable  drinks,  such  as 
milk,  cocoa,  and  chocolate,  that  contain  no  stimulating  prin- 
ciples, and  which  are  nourishing  and  healthful. 

As  one  course,  then,  is  perfectly  safe  and  another  in- 
volves great  danger,  it  is  wrong  and  sinful  to  choose  the 
path  of  danger.  There  is  no  peril  in  drinking  pure  water, 
milk,  the  juices  of  fruits,  and  infusions  that  are  nourishing 
and  harmless.  But  there  is  great  danger  to  the  young,  and 
to  the  commonwealth,  in  patronizing  the  sale  and  use  of 
alcoholic  drinks.  The  religion  of  Christ,  in  its  distinctive 
feature,  involves  generous  self -denial  for  the  good  of  others, 
especially  for  the  weaker  members  of  society.  It  is  on  this 
principle  that  St.  Paul  sets  forth  his  own  example, "  If  meat 
make  n  _y  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the 
world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend."  And 
again  he  teaches,  ""We,  then,  that  are  strong  ought  to 
bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  our- 
selves." 

This  Christian  principle  also  applies  to  the  common  drinks 
of  the  family,  tea  and  coffee. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  great  end  for  which  Jesus 
Christ  came,  and  for  which  he  instituted  the  family  state, 
is  the  training  of  our  whole  race  to  virtue  and  happiness, 
with  chief  reference  to  an  immortal  existence.  In  this  mis- 
sion, of  which  woman  is  chief  minister,  as  before  stated,  the 
distinctive  feature  is  self-sacrifice  of  the  wiser  and  stronger 
members  to  save  and  to  elevate  the  weaker  ones.  The  chil- 
dren and  the  servants  are  these  weaker  members,  who  by 
ignorance  and  want  of  habits  of  self-control  are  in  most 
danger.  It  is  in  this  aspect  that  we  are  to  consider  the  ex- 
pediency of  using  tea  and  coffee  in  a  family. 

These  drinks  are  a  most  extensive  cause  of  much  of  the 
nervous  debility  and  suffering  endured  by  American  women ; 
and  relinquishing  them  would  save  an  immense  amount  of 
such  suffering.  Moreover,  all  housekeepers  will  allow  that 


144  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

they  can  not  regulate  these  drinks  in  their  kitchens,  where 
the  ignorant  use  them  to  excess.  There  is  little  probability 
that  the  present  generation  will  make  so  decided  a  change 
in  their  habits  as  to  give  up  these  beverages  ;  but  the  sub- 
ject is  presented  rather  in  reference  to  forming  the  habits 
of  children. 

It  is  a  fact  that  tea  and  coffee  are  at  first  seldom  or  never 
agreeable  to  children.  It  is  the  mixture  of  milk,  sugar,  and 
water,  that  reconciles  them  to  a  taste,  which  in  this  manner 
gradually  becomes  agreeable.  Now  suppose  that  those  who 
provide  for  a  family  conclude  that  it  is  not  their  duty  to 
give  up  entirely  the  use  of  stimulating  drinks,  may  not  the 
case  appear  different  in  regard  to  teaching  their  children  to 
love  such  drinks  ?  Let  the  matter  be  regarded  thus  :  The 
experiments  of  physiologists  all  prove  that  stimulants  are 
not  needful  to  health,  and  that,  as  the  general  rule,  they  tend 
to  debilitate  the  constitution.  Is  it  right,  then,  for  a  parent 
to  tempt  a  child  to  drink  what  is  not  needful,  when  there 
is  a  probability  that  it  will  prove,  to  some  extent,  an  under- 
mining drain  on  the  constitution  1  Some  constitutions  can 
bear  much  less  excitement  than  others ;  and  in  every  family 
of  children,  there  is  usually  one  or  more  of  delicate  organi- 
zation, and  consequently  peculiarly  exposed  to  dangers  from 
this  source.  It  is  this  child  who  ordinarily  becomes  the  vic- 
tim to  stimulating  drinks.  The  tea  and  coffee  which  the 
parents  and  the  healthier  children  can  use  without  immedi- 
ate injury,  gradually  sap  the  energies  of  the  feebler  child, 
who  proves  either  an  early  victim  or  a  living  martyr  to  all 
the  sufferings  that  debilitated  nerves  inflict.  Can  it  be  right 
to  lead  children  where  all  allow  that  there  is  some  danger, 
and  where  in  many  cases  disease  and  death  are  met,  when 
another  path  is  known  to  be  perfectly  safe  ? 

The  impression  common  in  this  country,  that  warm  drinks, 
especially  in  winter,  are  more  healthful  than  cold,  is  not 
warranted  by  any  experience,  nor  by  the  laws  of  the  physical 
system.  At  dinner,  cold  drinks  are  universal,  and  no  one 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS.  145 

deems  them  injurious.  It  is  only  at  the  other  two  meals 
that  they  are  supposed  to  be  hurtful. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  warm  drinks  are  healthful,  and 
more  agreeable  than  cold,  at  certain  times  and  seasons ;  but 
it  is  equally  true  that  drinks  above  blood-heat  are  not  health- 
ful. If  a  person  should  bathe  in  warm  water  every  day, 
debility  would  inevitably  follow  ;  for  the  frequent  applica- 
tion of  the  stimulus  of  heat,  like  all  other  stimulants,  even- 
tually causes  relaxation  and  weakness.  If,  therefore,  a  person 
is  in  the  habit  of  drinking  hot  drinks  twice  a  day,  the  teeth, 
throat,  and  stomach  are  gradually  debilitated.  This,  most 
probably,  is  one  of  the  causes  of  an  early  decay  of  the  teeth, 
which  is  observed  to  be  much  more  common  among  Ameri- 
can ladies,  than  among  those  in  European  countries. 

It  has  been  stated  to  the  writer,  by  an  intelligent  traveler 
who  had  visited  Mexico,  that  it  was  rare  to  meet  an  indi- 
vidual with  even  a  tolerable  set  of  teeth,  and  that  almost 
every  grown  person  he  met  in  the  street  had  merely  rem- 
nants of  teeth.  On  inquiry  into  the  customs  of  the  country, 
it  was  found  that  it  was  the  universal  practice  to  take  their 
usual  beverage  at  almost  the  boiling-point ;  and  this  doubt- 
less was  the  chief  cause  of  the  almost  entire  want  of  teeth 
in  that  country.  In  the  United  States,  it  can  not  be  doubted 
that  much  evil  is  done  in  this  way  by  hot  drinks.  Most  tea- 
drinkers  consider  tea  as  ruined  if  it  stands  until  it  reaches 
the  healthful  temperature  for  drink. 

The  following  extract,  from  Dr.  Andrew  Combe,  presents 
the  opinion  of  most  intelligent  medical  men  on  this  sub- 
ject.* 

"  Water  is  a  safe  drink  for  all  constitutions,  provided  it 
be  resorted  to  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  natural  thirst 


*  The  writer  would  here  remark,  in  reference  to  extracts  made  from  va- 
rious authors,  that,  for  the  sake  of  abridging,  she  has  often  left  out  parts 
of  a  paragraph,  but  never  so  as  to  modify  the  meaning  of  the  author. 
Some  ideas,  not  connected  with  the  subject  in  hand,  are  omitted,  but  none 
are  altered. 


146  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  H  ME. 

only,  and  not  of  habit.  Unless  the  desire  for  it  is  felt,  there 
is  no  occasion  for  its  use  during  a  ineal." 

"  The  primary  effect  of  all  distilled  and  fermented  liquors 
is  to  stimulate  the  nervous  system  and  quicken  the  circula- 
tion. In  infancy  and  childhood,  the  circulation  is  rapid  and 
easily  excited ;  and  the  nervous  system  is  strongly  acted 
upon  even  by  the  slightest  external  impressions.  Hence,  slight 
causes  of  irritation  readily  excite  febrile  and  convulsive  dis- 
orders. In  youth,  the  natural  tendency  of  the  constitution 
is  still  to  excitement,  and  consequently,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
stimulus  of  fermented  liquors  is  injurious." 

These  remarks-show  that  parents,  who  find  that  stimulating 
drinks  are  not  injurious  to  themselves,  may  mistake  in  in- 
ferring from  this  that  they  will  not  be  injurious  to  their 
children. 

Dr.  Combe  continues  thus  :  "  In  mature  age,  when  diges- 
tion is  good,  and  the  system  in  full  vigor,  if  the  mode  of  life 
be  not  too  exhausting,  the  nervous  functions  and  general 
circulation  are  in  their  best  condition,  and  require  no  stim- 
ulus for  their  support.  The  bodily  energy  is  then  easily 
sustained  by  nutritious  food  and  a  regular  regimen,  and 
consequently  artificial  excitement  only  increases  the  wasting 
of  the  natural  strength." 

It  may  be  asked,  in  this  connection,  why  the  stimulus  of 
animal  food  is  not  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  that 
of  stimulating  drinks.  In  reply,  a  very  essential  difference 
may  be  pointed  out.  Animal  food  furnishes  nutriment  to 
the  organs  which  it  stimulates,  but  stimulating  drinks  excite 
the  organs  to  quickened  action  without  affording  any  nou- 
rishment. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  tea  and  coffee  have,  at 
least,  a  degree  of  nourishing  power.  But  it  is  proved  that 
it  is  the  milk  and  sugar,  and  not  the  main  portion  of  the 
drink,  which  imparts  the  nourishment.  Tea  has  not  one 
particle  of  nourishing  properties ;  and  what  little  exists  in 
the  coffee-berry  is  lost  by  roasting  it  in  the  usual  mode.  All 


HEALTHFUL   DRINKS.  147 

that  these  articles  do,  is  simply  to  stimulate  without  nou- 
rishing. 

Although  there  is  little  hope  of  banishing  these  drinks, 
there  is  still  a  chance  that  something  may  be  gained  in  at- 
tempts to  regulate  their  use  by  the  rules  of  temperance. 
If,  then,  a  housekeeper  can  not  banish  tea  and  coffee  en- 
tirely, she  may  use  her  influence  to  prevent  excess,  both  by 
her  instructions,  and  by  the  power  of  control  committed 
more  or  less  to  her  hands. 

It  is  important  for  every  housekeeper  to  know  that  the 
health  of  a  family  very  much  depends  on  \hs  purity  of  wa- 
ter used  for  cooking  and  drinking.  There  are  three  causes 
of  impure  and  unhealthf ul  water.  One  is,  the  existence  in 
it  of  vegetable  or  animal  matter,  which  can  be  remedied  by 
filtering  through  sand  and  charcoal.  Another  cause  is,  the 
existence  of  mineral  matter,  especially  in  limestone  coun- 
tries, producing  diseases  of  the  bladder.  This  is  remedied 
in  a  measure  by  boiling,  which  secures  a  deposit  of  the  lime 
on  the  vessel  used.  The  third  cause  is,  the  corroding  of  zinc 
and  lead  used  in  pipes  and  reservoirs,  producing  oxides  that 
are  slow  poisons.  The  only  remedy  is  prevention,  by  having 
supply-pipes  made  of  iron,  like  gas-pipe,  instead  of  zinc  and 
lead  ;  or  the  lately  invented  lead  pipe  lined  with  tin,  which 
metal  is  not  corrosive.  The  obstacle  to  this  is,  that  the  trade 
of  the  plumbers  would  be  greatly  diminished  by  the  use  of 
reliable  pipes.  When  water  must  be  used  from  supply-pipes 
of  lead  or  zinc,  it  is  well  to  let  the  water  run  some  time  be- 
fore drinking  it  and  to  use  as  little  as  possible,  taking  milk 
instead  ;  and  being  further  satisfied  for  inner  necessities  by 
the  water  supplied  by  fruits  and  vegetables.  The  water  in 
these  is  always  pure.  But  in  using  milk  as  a  drink,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  it  is  also  rich  food,  and  that  less  of 
other  food  must  be  taken  when  milk  is  thus  used,  or  bilious 
troubles  will  result  from  excess  of  food. 

The  use  of  opium,  especially  by  women,  is  usually  caused 
at  first  by  medical  prescriptions  containing  it.     All  thatf  has 


148  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

been  stated  as  to  the  ,effect  of  alcohol  in  the  brain  is  true  of 
opium ;  while,  to  break  a  habit  thus  induced  is  almost  hopeless. 
Every  woman  who  takes  or  who  administers  this  drug,  is  deal- 
ing as  with  poisoned  arrows,  whose  wounds  are  without  cure. 

The  use  of  tobacco  in  this  country,  and  especially  among 
young  boys,  is  increasing  at  a  fearful  rate.  On  this  subject, 
we  have  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  medical  men ;  the  fol- 
lowing being  specimens. 

A  distinguished  medical  writer  thus  states  the  case :  "  Every 
physician  knows  that  the  agreeable  sensations  that  tempt 
to  the  use  of  tobacco  are  caused  by  nicotine,  which  is  a  rank 
poison,  as  much  so  as  prussic  acid  or  arsenic.  When  smoked, 
the  poison  is  absorbed  by  the  blood  of  the  mouth,  and  car- 
ried to  the  brain.  When  chewed,  the  nicotine  passes  to  the 
blood  through  the  mouth  and  stomach.  In  both  cases,  the 
whole  nervous  system  is  thrown  into  abnormal  excitement  to 
expel  the  poison,  and  it  is  this  excitement  that  causes  agree- 
able sensations.  The  excitement  thus  caused  is  invariably 
followed  by  a  diminution  of  nervous  power,  in  exact  pro- 
portion to  the  preceding  excitement  to  expel  the  evil  from  the 


Few  will  dispute  the  general  truth  and  effect  of  the 
above  statement,  so  that  the  question  is  one  to  be  settled  on 
the  same  principle  as  applies  to  the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks. 
Is  it,  then,  according  to  the  generous  principles  of  Christ's 
religion,  for  those  who  are  strong  and  able  to  bear  this  poison, 
to  tempt  the  young,  the  ignorant,  and  the  weak  to  a  prac- 
tice not  needful  to  any  healthful  enjoyment,  and  which  leads 
multitudes  to  disease,  and  often  to  vice?  For  the  use  of 
tobacco  tends  always  to  lessen  nerve-power,  and  probably 
every  one  out  of  five  that  indulges  in  its  use  awakens  a  mor- 
bid craving  for  increased  stimulus,  lessens  the  power  of 
self-control,  diminishes  the  strength  of  the  constitution,  and 
sets  an  example  that  influences  the  weak  to  the  path  of 
danger  and  of  frequent  ruin. 

The  great  danger  of  this  age  is  an  increasing,  intense 


HEALTHFUL  DRINKS.  149 

worldliness,  and  disbelief  in  the  foundation  principle  of  the 
religion  of  Christ,  that  we  are  to  reap  through  everlasting 
ages  the  consequences  of  habits  formed  in  this  life.  In  the 
light  of  his  word,  they  only  who  are  truly  wise  "  shall  shine 
as  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness, 
as  the  stars,  forever  and  ever." 

It  is  increased  faith  or  belief  in  the  teachings  of  Christ's 
religion,  as  to  the  influence  of  this  life  upon  the  life  to  come, 
which  alone  can  save  our  country  and  the  world  from  that 
inrushing  tide  of  sensualism  and  worldliness,  now  seeming 
to  threaten  the  best  hopes  and  prospects  of  our  race. 

And  woman,  as  the  chief  educator  of  our  race,  and  the 
prime  minister  of  the  family  state,  is  bound  in  the  use  of 
meats  and  drinks  to  employ  the  powerful  and  distinctive 
motives  of  the  religion  of  Christ  in  forming  habits  of  tem- 
perance and  benevolent  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of  others. 


XI. 


CLEANLINESS. 

BOTH  the  health  and  comfort  of  a  family  depend,  to  a 
great  extent,  on  cleanliness  of  the  person  and  the  family 
surroundings.  True  cleanliness  of  person  involves  the  sci- 
entific treatment  of  the  skin.  This  is  the  most  complicated 
organ  of  the  body,  and  one  through  which  the  health  is  af- 
fected more  than  through  any  other ;  and  no  persons  can  or 
will  be  so  likely  to  take  proper  care  of  it  as  those  by  whom 
its  construction  and  functions  are  understood. 

Fig.  57  is  a  very  highly 
magnified  portion  of  the 
skin.  The  layer  marked 
1  is  the  outside,  very  thin 
skin,  called  the  cuticle  or 
scarf  skin.  This  consists 
of  transparent  layers  of 


Fig.  57. 


minute  cells,  which  are 
constantly  decaying  and 
being  renewed,  and  the 
white  scurf  that  passes 
from  the  skin  to  the  cloth- 
ing is  a  decayed  portion  of 

these  cells.     This  part  of  the  skin  has  neither  nerves  nor 
blood-vessels. 

The  dark  layer,  marked  2,  7,  8,  is  that  portion  of  the  true 
skin  which  gives  the  external  color  marking  diverse  races. 
In  the  portion  of  the  dark  layer  marked  3,  4,  is  seen  a  net- 
work of  nerves  which  run  from  two  branches  of  the  nervous 


CLEANLINESS. 


trunks  coming  from  the  spinal  marrow.  These  are  nerves 
of  sensation,  by  which  the  sense  of  touch  or  feeling  is  per- 
formed. Fig.  58  represents  the 
blood-vessels,  (intermingled  with 
the  nerves  of  the  skin,)  which 
divide  into  minute  capillaries, 
that  act  like  the  capillaries  of 
the  lungs,  taking  oxygen  from 
the  air,  and  giving  out  carbonic 
acid.  At  a  and  b  are  seen  the 
roots  of  two  hairs,  which  abound 
in  certain  parts  of  the  skin,  and 
are  nourished  by  the  blood  of 
the  capillaries. 

At  Fig.  59  is  a  magnified  view 
of  another  set  of  vessels,  called  the  lymphatics  or  absorb- 
ents. These  are  extremely  minute  vessels  that  interlace 
with  the  nerves  and  blood-vessels  of  the  skin.  Their  office 
is  to  aid  in  collecting  the  use- 
less, injurious,  or  decayed  mat- 
ter, and  carry  it  to  certain  re- 
servoirs, from  which  it  passes 
in  to  some  of  the  large  veins,  to 
be  thrown  out  through  the 
lungs,  bowels,  kidneys,  or  skin. 
These  absorbent  or  lymphatic 
vessels  have  mouths  opening 
on  the  surface  of  the  true  skin, 
and,  though  covered  by  the 

cuticle,  they  can  absorb  both  liquids  and  solids  that  are 
placed  in  close -contact  with  the  skin.  In  proof  of  this,  one 
of  the  main  trunks  oi  the  lymphatics  in  the  hand  can  be 
cut  off  from  all  communication  with  other  portions,  and  tied 
up :  and  if  the  hand  is  immersed  in  milk  a  given  time,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  milk  has  been  absorbed  through  the 
cuticle  and  fills  the  lymphatics.  In  this  way,  long-con- 


Fig.  59. 


152 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  60. 


tinued  blisters  on  the  skin  will  introduce  the  blistering  mat- 
ter into  the  blood  through  the  absorbents,  and  then  the  kid- 
neys will  take  it  up  from  the  blood  passing  through  them  to 
carry  it  out  of  the  body,  and  thus  become  irritated  and  in- 
flamed by  it. 

There  are  also  oil-tubes,  imbedded  in  the  skin,  that  draw 
off  oil  from  the  blood.  This  issues  on  the  surface  and  spreads 
over  the  cuticle  to  keep  it  soft  and  moist. 

But  the  most  curious  part  of  the  skin 
is  the  system  of  innumerable  minute 
perspiration-tubes.  Fig.  60  is  a  draw- 
ing of  one  very  greatly  magnified. 
These  tubes  open  on  the  cuticle,  and 
the  openings  are  called  pores  of  the 
skin.  They  descend  into  the  true  skin, 
and  there  form  a  coil,  as  is  seen  in  the 
drawing.  These  tubes  are  hollow,  Hke 
a  pipe-stem,  and  their  inner  surface 
consists  of  wonderfully  minute  capilla- 
ries filled  with  the  impure  venous 
blood.  And  in  these  small  tubes  the 
same  process  is  going  on  as  takes  place 
when  the  carbonic  acid  and  water  of 
the  blood  are  exhaled  from  the  lungs. 
The  capillaries  of  these  tubes  through 
the  whole  skin  of  the  body  are  thus 
constantly  exhaling  the  noxious  and  decayed  particles  of 
the  body,  just  as  the  lungs  pour  them  out  through  the 
mouth  and  nose. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  perspiration-tubes  are  coiled 
up  into  a  ball  at  their  base.  The  number  and  extent  of 
these  tubes  are  astonishing.  In  a  square  inch  on  the  palm 
of  the  hand  have  been  counted,  through  a  microscope,  thir- 
ty-five hundred  of  these  tubes.  Each  one  of  them  is  about 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length,  including  its  coils.  This 
makes  the  united  lengths  of  these  little  tubes  to  be  seventy- 


CLEANLINESS.  153 

three  feet  to  a  square  inch.  Their  united  length  over  the 
whole  body  is  thus  calculated  to  be  equal  to  twenty-eight 
miles.  What  a  wonderful  apparatus  this  !  And  what  mis- 
chiefs must  ensue  when  the  drainage  from  the  body  of  such 
an  extent  as  this  becomes  obstructed  ! 

But  the  inside  of  the  body  also  has  a  skin,  as  have  all  its 
organs.  The  interior  of  the  head,  the  throat,  the  gullet,  the 
lungs,  the  stomach,  and  all  the  intestines,  are  lined  with  a 
skin.  This  is  called  the  mucous  membrane,  because  it  is 
constantly  secreting  from  the  blood  a  slimy  substance  called 
mucus.  When  it  accumulates  in  the  lungs,  it  is  called^AZ^m. 
This  inner  skin  also  has  nerves,  blood-vessels,  and  lymphatics. 
The  outer  skin  joins  to  the  inner  at  the  mouth,  the  nose,  and 
other  openings  of  the  body,  and  there  is  a  constant  sympathy 
between  the  two  skins,  and  thus  between  the  inner  organs 
and  the  surface  of  the  body. 

SECRETING  ORGANS. 

Those  vessels  of  the  body  which  draw  off  certain  portions 
of  the  blood  and  change  it  into  a  new  form,  to  be  employed 
for  service  or  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  body,  are  called  se- 
creting organs.  The  skin  in  this  sense  is  a  secreting  organ, 
as  its  perspiration-tubes  secrete  or  separate  the  bad  portions 
of  the  blood,  and  send  them  off. 

Of  the  internal  secreting  organs,  the  liver  is  the  largest. 
Its  chief  office  is  to  secrete  from  the  blood  all  matter  not 
properly  supplied  with  oxygen.  For  this  purpose,  a  set  of 
veins  carries  the  blood  of  all  the  lower  intestines  to  the  liver, 
where  the  imperfectly  oxidized  matter  is  drawn  off  in  the 
form  of  Hie,  and  accumulated  in  a  reservoir  called  the 
gall-bladder.  Thence  it  passes  to  the  place  where  the 
smaller  intestines  receive  the  food  from  the  stomach,  and 
there  it  mixes  with  this  food.  Then  it  passes  through  the 
long  intestines,  and  is  thrown  out  of  the  body  through  the 
rectum.  This  shows  how  it  is,  that  want  of  pure  and  cool 


154  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

air  and  exercise  causes  excess  of  bile,  from  lack  of  oxygen. 
The  liver  also  has  arterial  blood  sent  to  nourish  it,  and  cor- 
responding veins  to  return  this  blood  to  the  heart.  So  there 
are  two  sets  of  blood-vessels  for  the  liver — one  to  secrete  the 
bile,  and  the  other  to  nourish  the  organ  itself. 

The  kidneys  secrete  from  the  arteries  that  pass  through 
them  all  excess  of  water  in  the  blood,  and  certain  injurious 
substances.  These  are  carried  through  small  tubes  to  the 
bladder,  and  thence  thrown  out  of  the  body. 

The  pancreas,  a  whitish  gland,  situated  in  the  abdomen 
below  the  stomach,  secretes  from  the  arteries  that  pass 
through  it  the  pancreatic  juice,  which  unites  with  the  bile 
from  the  liver,  in  preparing  the  food  for  nourishing  the 
body. 

There  are  certain  little  glands  near  the  eyes  that  secrete 
the  tears,  and  others  near  the  mouth  that  secrete  the  saliva, 
or  spittle. 

These  organs  all  have  arteries  sent  to  them  to  nourish 
them,  and  also  veins  to  carry  away  the  impure  blood.  At 
the  same  time,  they  secrete  from  the  arterial  blood  the  pe- 
culiar fluid  which  it  is  their  office  to  supply. 

All  the  food  that  passes  through  the  lower  intestines 
which  is  not  drawn  off  by  the  lacteals  or  by  some  of  these 
secreting  organs,  passes  from  the  body  through  a  passage 
called  the  rectum. 

Learned  men  have  made  very  curious  experiments  to  as- 
certain how  much  the  several  organs  throw  out  of  the  body, 
It  is  found  that  the  skin  throws  off  five  out  of  eight  pounds 
of  the  food  and  drink,  or  probably  about  three  or  four 
pounds  a  day.  The  lungs  throw  off  one  quarter  as  much 
as  the  skin,  or  about  a  pound  a  day.  The  remainder  is 
carried  off  by  the  kidneys  and  lower  intestines. 

There  is  such  a  sympathy  and  connection  between  all  the 
organs  of  the  body,  that  when  one  of  them  is  unable  to 
work,  the  others  perform  the  office  of  the  feeble  one. 
Thus,  if  the  skin  has  its  perspiration-tubes  closed  up  by  a 


CLEANLINESS.  155 

chill,  then  all  the  poisonous  matter  that  would  have  been 
thrown  out  through  them  must  be  emptied  out  either  by 
the  lungs,  kidneys,  or  bowels. 

When  all  these  organs  are  strong  and  healthy,  they  can 
bear  this  increased  labor  without  injury.  But  if  the  lungs 
are  weak,  the  blood  sent  from  the  skin  by  the  chill  engor- 
ges the  weak  blood-vessels,  and  produces  an  inflammation 
of  the  lungs.  Or  it  increases  the  discharge  of  a  slimy  mu- 
cous substance,  that  exudes  from  the  skin  of  the  lungs. 
This  fills  up  the  air-vessels,  and  would  very  soon  end  life, 
were  it  not  for  the  spasms  of  the  lungs,  called  coughing, 
which  throw  off  this  substance. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  bowels  are  weak,  a  chill  of  the 
skin  sends  the  blood  into  all  the  blood-vessels  of  the  intes- 
tines, and  produces  inflammation  there,  or  else  an  excessive 
secretion  of  the  mucous  substance,  which  is  called  a  diar- 
rhea. Or  if  the  kidneys  are  weak,  there  is  an  increased  se- 
cretion and  discharge  from  them,  to  an  unhealthy  and  in- 
jurious extent. 

This  connection  between  the  skin  and  internal  organs  is 
shown,  not  only  by  the  internal  effects  of  a  chill  on  the  skin ; 
but  by  the  sympathetic  effect  on  the  skin  when  these  internal 
organs  suffer.  For  example,  there  are  some  kinds  of  food 
that  will  irritate  and  influence  the  stomach  or  the  bowels ; 
and  this,  by  sympathy,  will  produce  an  immediate  eruption  on 
the  skin.  Some  persons,  on  eating  strawberries,  will  imme- 
diately be  affected  with  a  nettle-rash.  Others  can  not  eat 
certain  shell-fish  without  being  affected  in  this  way.  Many 
humors  on  the  face  are  caused  by  a  diseased  state  of  the 
internal  organs  with  which  the  skin  sympathizes. 

This  short  account  of  the  construction  of  the  skin,  and 
of  its  intimate  connection  with  the  internal  organs,  shows 
the  philosophy  of  those  modes  of  medical  treatment  that  are 
addressed  to  this  portion  of  the  body. 

It  is  on  this  powerful  agency  that  the  steam-doctors  rely, 
when,  by  moisture  and  heat,  they  stimulate  all  the  innu 


156 

merable  perspiration -tubes  and  lymphatics  to  force  out 
from  the  body  a  flood  of  unnaturally  excited  secretions; 
while  it  is  "  kill  or  cure,"  just  as  the  chance  may  meet  or 
oppose  the  demands  of  the  case.  It  is  the  skin  also  that  is 
the  chief  basis  of  medical  treatment  in  the  Water  Cure, 
whose  slow  processes  are  as  much  safer  as  they  are  slower. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  the  ill-treatment  or  neglect  of  the 
skin  which,  probably,  is  the  cause  of  disease  and  decay 
to  an  incredible  extent.  The  various  particulars  in  which 
this  may  be  seen  will  now  be  pointed  out.  In  the  man- 
agement and  care  of  this  wonderful  and  complex  part  of 
the  body,  many  mistakes  have  been  made. 

The  most  common  one  is  the  misuse  of  the  bath,  especially 
since  cold  water  cures  have  come  into  use.  This  mode  of 
medical  treatment  originated  with  an  ignorant  peasant,  amid 
a  population  where  outdoor  labor  had  strengthened  nerves 
and  muscles  and  imparted  rugged  powers  to  every  part  of  the 
body.  It  was  then  introduced  into  England  and  America 
without  due  consideration  or  knowledge  of  the  diseases, 
habits,  or  real  condition  of  patients,  especially  of  women. 
The  consequence  was  a  mode  of  treatment  too  severe  and 
exhausting ;  and  many  practices  were  spread  abroad  not 
warranted  by  true  medical  science. 

But  in  spite  of  these  mistakes  and  abuses,  the  treatment 
of  the  skin  for  disease  by  the  use  of  cold  water  has  become 
an  accepted  doctrine  of  the  most  learned  medical  practi- 
tioners. It  is  now  held  by  all  such  that  fevers  can  be  de- 
tected in  their  distinctive  features  by  the  thermometer,  and 
that  all  fevers  can  be  reduced  by  cold  baths  and  packing  in 
the  wet  sheet,  in  the  mode  employed  in  all  water-cures.  Di- 
rections for  using  this  method  will  be  given  in  another  place. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  large  bath-tubs  for  immersing 
the  whole  person  are  indispensable  to  the  proper  cleaning  of 
the  skin.  This  is  not  so.  A  wet  towel,  applied  every  morn- 
ing to  the  skin,  followed  by  friction  in  pure  air,  is  all  that 
is  absolutely  needed ;  although  a  full  bath  is  a  great  luxury. 


CLEANLINESS.  157 

Access  of  air  to  every  part  of  the  skin  when  its  perspiratory 
tubes  are  cleared  and  i,ts  blood-vessels  are  filled  by  friction 
is  the  best  ordinary  bath. 

In  early  life,  children  should  be  washed  all  over,  every 
night  or  morning,  to  remove  impurities  from  the  skin.  But 
in  this  process,  careful  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  peculiar 
constitution  of  a  child.  Very  nervous  children  sometimes 
revolt  from  cold  water,  and  like  a  tepid  bath.  Others  pre- 
fer a  cold  bath ;  and  nature  should  be  the  guide.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  skin  is  the  great  organ  of  sensation,  and 
in  close  connection  with  brain,  spine,  and  nerve-centres :  so 
that  what  a  strong  nervous  system  can  bear  with  advantage 
is  too  powerful  and  exhausting  for  another.  As  age  advances, 
or  as  disease  debilitates  the  body,  great  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  overtax  the  nervous  system  by  sudden  shocks,  or  to 
diminish  its  powers  by  withdrawing  animal  heat  to  excess. 
Persons  lacking  robustness  should  bathe  or  use  friction  in 
a  warm  room ;  and  if  very  delicate,  should  expose  only  a 
portion  of  the  body  at  once  to  cold  air. 

Johnson,  a  celebrated  writer  on  agricultural  chemistry, 
tells  of  an  experiment  by  friction  on  the  skin  of  pigs,  whose 
skins  are  like  that  of  the  human  race.  He  treated  six  of 
these  animals  with  a  curry-comb  seven  weeks,  and  left  three 
other  pigs  untouched.  The  result  was  a  gain  of  thirty-three 
pounds  more  of  weight,  with  the  use  of  five  bushels  less  of 
food  for  those  curried,  than  for  the  neglected  ones.  This 
result  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  all  the  functions  of  the 
body  were  more  perfectly  performed  when,  by  friction,  the 
skin  was  kept  free  from  filth  and  the  blood  in  it  exposed  to 
the  air.  The  same  will  be  true  of  the  human  skin.  A  cal 
dilation  has  been  made  on  this  fact,  by  which  it  is  estima- 
ted that  a  man,  by  proper  care  of  his  skin,  would  save  over 
thirty-one  dollars  in  food  yearly,  which  is  the  interest  on 
over  five  hundred  dollars.  If  men  will  give  as  much  care 
to  their  own  skin  as  they  give  to  currying  a  horse,  they  will 
gain  both  health  and  wealth. 


XII. 

I 

CLOTHING. 

THERE  is  no  duty  of  those  person^  having  control  of  a 
family  where  principle  and  practice  are  more  at  variance 
than  in  regulating  the  dress  of  young  girls,  especially  at 
the  most  important  and  critical  period  of  life.  It  is  a  dif- 
ficult duty  for  parents  and  teachers  to  contend  with  the 
power  of  fashion,  which  at  this  time  of  a  young  girl's  life  is 
frequently  the  ruling  thought,  and  when  to  be  out  of  the 
fashion,  to  be  odd  and  not  dress  as  all  her  companions  do, 
is  a  mortification  and  grief  that  no  argument  or  instructions 
can  relieve.  The  mother  is  often  so  overborne  that,  in  spite 
of  her  better  wishes,  the  daughter  adopts  modes  of  dress 
alike  ruinous  to  health  and  to  beauty. 

The  greatest  protection  against  such  an  emergency  is  to 
train  a  child  to  understand  the  construction  of  her  own 
body  and  to  impress  upon  her,  in  early  days,  her  obliga- 
tions to  the  invisible  Friend  and  Guardian  of  her  life,  the 
"  Former  of  her  body  and  the  Father  of  her  spirit,"  who  has 
committed  to  her  care  so  precious  and  beautiful  a  casket. 
And  the  more  she  can  "be  made  to  realize  the  skill  and 
beauty  of  construction  shown  in  her  earthly  frame,  the 
more  will  she  feel  the  obligation  to  protect  it  from  injury 
and  abuse. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  war  of  fashion  has  attacked 
most  fatally  what  seems  to  be  the  strongest  foundation  and 
defense  of  the  body,  the  bones.  For  this  reason,  the  con- 
struction and  functions  of  this  part  of  the  body  will  now 
receive  attention. 

The  bones  are  composed  of  two  substances,  one  animal. 


CLOTHING.  159 

aud  the  other  mineral.  The  animal  part  is  a  very  fine 
network,  called  cellular  membrane.  In  this  are  deposited 
the  harder  mineral  substances,  which  are  composed  princi- 
pally of  carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime.  In  very  early 
life,  the  bones  consist  chiefly  of  the  animal  part,  and  are 
then  soft  and  pliant.  As  the  child  advances  in  age,  the 
bones  grow  harder,  by  the  gradual  deposition  of  the  phos- 
phate of  lime,  which  is  supplied  by  the  food,  and  carried  to 
the  bones  by  the  blood.  In  old  age,  the  hardest  material 
preponderates ;  making  the  bones  more  brittle  than  in  ear- 
lier life. 

The  bones  are  covered  with  a  thin  skin  or  membrane, 
filled  with  small  blood-vessels  which  convey  nourishment 
to  them. 

Where  the  bones  unite  with  others  to  form  joints,  they 
are  covered  with  cartilage,  which  is  a  smooth,  white,  elas- 
tic substance.  This  enables  the  joints  to  move  smoothly, 
while  its  elasticity  prevents  injuries  from  sudden  jars. 

The  joints  are  bound  together  by  strong,  elastic  bands 
called  ligaments,  which  hold  them  firmly  and  prevent  dis- 
location. 

Between  the  ends  of  the  bones  that  unite  to  form  joints 
are  small  sacks  or  bags,  that  contain  a  soft  lubricating  fluid. 
This  answers  the  same  purpose  for  the  joints  as  oil  in  mak- 
ing machinery  work  smoothly,  while  the  supply  is  constant 
and  always  in  exact  proportion  to  the  demand. 

If  you  will  examine  the  leg  of  some  fowl,  you  can  see  the 
cartilage  that  covers  the  ends  of  the  bones  at  the  joints, 
and  the  strong  white  ligaments  that  bind  the  joints  toge- 
ther. 

The  health  of  the  bones  depends  on  the  proper  nourish- 
ment and  exercise  of  the  body  as  much  as  that  of  any  other 
part.  When  a  child  is  feeble  and  unhealthy,  or  when  it 
grows  up  without  exercise,  the  bones  do  not  become  firm 
and  hard  as  they  are  when  the  body  is  healthfully  devel- 
oped by  exercise.  The  size  as  well  as  the  strength  of  the 


160  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

bones,  to  a  certain  extent,  also  depend  upon  exercise  and 
good  health. 

The  chief  supporter  of  the  body  is  the  spine,  which  con- 
sists of  twenty-four  small  bones,  interlocked  or  hooked  into 
each  other,  while  between  them  are  elastic  cushions  of  car- 
tilage which  aid  in  preserving  the 
upright,  natural  position.  Fig.  61 
shows  three  of  the  spinal  bones, 
hooked  into  each  other,  the  dark 
spaces  showing  the  disks  or  flat  cir- 
cular plates  of  cartilage  between 
them. 

The  spine  is  held  in  its  proper 
position,  partly  by  the  ribs,  partly  by 
muscles,  partly  by  aid  of  the  elastic 
disks,  and  partly  by  the  close  pack- 
ing of  the  intestines  in  front  of  it. 

The  upper  part  of  the  spine  is  often  thrown  out  of  its 
proper  position  by  constant  stooping  of  the  head  over  books 
or  work.  This  affects  the  elastic  disks  so  that  they  grow 
thick  at  the  back  side  and  thinner  at  the  front  side  by  such 
constant  pressure.  The  result  is  the  awkward  projection 
of  the  head  forward  which  is  often  seen  in  schools  and  col- 
leges. 

Another  distortion  of  the  spine  is  produced  by  tight  dress 
around  the  waist.  The  liver  occupies  the  right  side  of  the 
bo^dy  and  is  a  solid  mass,  while  on  the  other  side  is  the  larger 
part  of  the  stomach,  which  is  often  empty.  The  conse- 
quence of  tight  dress  around  the  waist  is  a  constant  pres- 
sure of  the  spine  toward  the  unsupported  part  where  the 
stomach  lies.  Thus  the  elastic  disks  again  are  compressed ; 
till  they  become  .thinner  on  one  side  than  the  other,  and 
harden  into  that  condition.  This  produces  what  is  called 
the  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine,  making  one  shoulder 
higher  than  the  other. 

The  compression  of  the  lower  part  of  the  waist  is  especial- 


CLOTHING,  161 

ly  dangerous  at  the  time  young  girls  first  enter  society  and 
are  tempted  to  dress  according  to  the  fashion.  Many  a 
school-girl,  whose  waist  was  originally  of  a  proper  and 
healthful  size,  has  gradually  pressed  the  soft  bones  of 
youth  until  the  lower  ribs  that  should  rise  and  fall  with 
every  breath,  become  entirely  unused.  Then  the  abdomi- 
nal breathing,  performed  by  the  lower  part  of  the  lungs, 
ceases ;  the  whole  system  becomes  reduced  in  strength ; 
the  abdominal  muscles  that  hold  up  the  interior  organs  be- 
come weak,  and  the  upper  ones  gradually  sink  upon  the  lower. 

This  pressure  of  the  upper  interior  organs  upon  the  lower 
ones,  by  tight  dress,  is  increased  by  the  weight  of  clothing 
resting  on  the  hips  and  abdomen.  Corsets,  as  usually  worn, 
have  no  support  from  the  shoulders,  and  consequently  all 
the  weight  of  dress  resting  upon  or  above  them  presses 
upon  the  hips  and  abdomen,  and  this  in  such  a  way  as  to 
throw  out  of  use  and  thus  weaken  the  most  important  sup- 
porting muscles  of  the  abdomen,  and  impede  abdominal 
breathing. 

The  diaphragm  is  a  kind  of  muscular  floor,  extending 
across  the  centre  of  the  body,  on  which  the  heart  and  lungs 
rest.  Beneath  it  are  the  liver,  stomach,  and  the  abdomi- 
nal viscera,  or  intestines,  which  are  supported  by  the  abdo- 
minal muscles,  running  upward,  downward,  and  crosswise. 
When  these  muscles  are  thrown  out  of  use,  they  lose  their 
power,  the  whole  system  of  organs  mainly  resting  on  them 
for  support  can  not  continue  in  their  naturally  snug,  compact, 
and  rounded  form,  but  become  separated,  elongated,  and  un- 
supported. The  stomach  begins  to  draw  from  above  instead 
of  resting  on  the  viscera  beneath.  This  in  some  cases  causes 
dull  and  wandering  pains,  a  sense  of  pulling  at  the  centre 
of  the  chest,  and  a  drawing  downward  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomach.  Then  as  the  support  beneath  is  really  gone,  there 
is  what  is  often  called  "  a  feeling  of  goneness"  This  is 
sometimes  relieved  by  food,  which,  so  long  as  it  remains  in 
a  solid  form,  helps  to  hold  up  the  falling  superstructure. 


162  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

This  displacement  of  the  stomach,  liver,  and  spleen  inter- 
rupts their  healthful  functions,  and  dyspepsia  and  biliary 
difficulties  not  unfrequently  are  the  result. 

As  the  stomach  and  its  appendages  fall  downward,  the 
diaphragm,  which  holds  up  the  heart  and  lungs,  must  des- 
cend also.  In  this  state  of  things,  the  inflation  of  the  lungs  is 
less  and  less  aided  by  the  abdominal  muscles,  and  is  con- 
fined chiefly  to  their  upper  portion.  Breathing  sometimes 
thus  becomes  quicker  and  shorter  on  account  of  the  elon- 
gated or  debilitated  condition  of  the  assisting  organs.  Con- 
sumption not  unfrequently  results  from  this  cause. 

The  heart  also  feels  the  evil.  "  Palpitations,"  "  flutter- 
ings,"  "  sinking  feelings,"  all  show  that,  in  the  language  of 
Scripture,  "the  heart  trembleth,  and  is  moved  out  of  its 
place." 

But  the  lower  intestines  are  the  greatest  sufferers  from 
this  dreadful  abuse  of  nature.  Having  the  weight  of  all 
the  unsupported  organs  above  pressing  them  into  unnatural 
and  distorted  positions,  the  passage  of  the  food  is  inter- 
rupted, and  inflammations,  indurations,  and  constipation 
are  the  frequent  result.  Dreadful  ulcers  and  cancers  may 
be  traced  in  some  instances  to  this  cause. 

Although  these  internal  displacements  are  most  common 
among  women,  some  foolish  members  of  the  other  sex  are 
adopting  customs  of  dress,  in  girding  the  central  portion  of 
the  body,  that  tend  to  similar  results. 

But  this  distortion  brings  upon  woman  peculiar  distresses. 
The  pressure  of  the  whole  superincumbent  mass  on  the 
pelvic  or  lower  organs  induces  sufferings  proportioned  in 
acuteness  to  the  extreme  delicacy  and  sensitiveness  of  the 
parts  thus  crushed.  And  the  intimate  connection  of  these 
organs  with  the  brain  and  whole  nervous  system  renders  in- 
juries thus  inflicted" the  causes  of  the  most  extreme  anguish, 
both  of  body  and  mind.  This  evil  is  becoming  so  com- 
mon, not  only  among  married  women,  but  among  young 
girls,  as  to  be  a  just  cause  for  universal  alarm. 


CLOTHING.  163 

How  very  common  these  sufferings  are,  few  but  the  medi- 
cal profession  can  realize,  because  they  are  troubles  that 
must  be  concealed.  Many  a  woman  is  moving  about  in  un- 
complaining agony  who,  with  any  other  trouble  involving 
equal  suffering,  would  be  on  her  bed  surrounded  by  sym- 
pathizing friends. 

The  terrible  sufferings  that  are  sometimes  thus  induced 
can  never  be  conceived  of,  or  at  all  appreciated  from,  any 
use  of  language.  Nothing  that  the  public  can  be  made  to 
believe  on  this  subject  will  ever  equal  the  reality.  Not 
only  mature  persons  and  mothers,  but  fair  young  girls  some- 
times, are  shut  up  for  months  and  years  as  helpless  and 
suffering  invalids. from  this  cause.  This  may  be  found  all 
over  the  land.  And  there  frequently  is  a  horrible  extremity 
of  suffering  in  certain  forms  of  this  evil,  which  no  woman 
of  feeble  constitution  can  ever  be  certain  may  not  be  her 
doom.  Not  that  in  all  cases  this  extremity  is  involved,  but 
none  can  say  who  will  escape  it. 

In  regard  to  this,  if  one  must  choose  for  a  friend  or  a 
child,  on  the  one  hand,  the  horrible  torments  inflicted  by 
savage  Indians  or  cruel  inquisitors  on  their  victims,  or,  on 
the  other,  the  protracted  agonies  that  result  from  such  de- 
formities and  displacements,  sometimes  the  former  would 
be  a  merciful  exchange. 

And  yet  this  is  the  fate  that  is  coming  to  meet  the  young 
as  well  as  the  mature  in  every  direction.  And  tender 
parents  are  unconsciously  leading  their  lovely  and  hapless 
daughters  to  this  awful  doom. 

There  is  no  excitement  of  the  imagination  in  what  is  here 
indicated.  If  the  facts  and  details  could  be  presented,  they 
would  send  a  groan  of  terror  all  over  the  land.  For  it  is 
not  one  class,  or  one  section,  that  is  endangered.  In  every 
part  of  our  country  the  evil  is  progressing. 

And,  as  if  these  dreadful  ills  were  not  enough,  there  have 
been  added  methods  of  medical  treatment  at  once  useless,  tor- 
turing to  the  mind*  and  involving  great  liability  to  immorali- 
ties. 


iGi 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN*  S  HOME. 


Fig.  62. 


In  hope  of  abating  these  evils,  drawings  are  given  (Fig. 

62  and  Fig.  63)  of  the  front  and  back  of  a  jacket  that  will 

preserve  the  advantages  of 
the  corset  without  its  evils. 
This  jacket  may  at  first  be 
fitted  to  the  figure  with  cor- 
sets underneath  it,  just  like 
the  waist  of  a  dress.  Then, 
delicate  whalebones  can  be 
used  to  stiffen  the  jacket,  so 
that  it  will  take  the  proper 
shape,  when  the  corset  may 
be  dispensed  with.  The  but- 
tons below  are  to  hold  all 

articles  of  dress  below  the  waist  by  button-holes.      By  this 

method,  the  bust  is  supported  as  well  as  by  corsets,  while 

the  shoulders  support  from  above,  as  they  should  do,  the 

weight  of  the  dress  below.   ~No  stiff  bone  should  be  allowed 

to  press  in  front,  and  the  jacket  should  be  so  loose  that  a 

full  breath  can  be  inspired  with  ease,  while  in  a  sitting 

position. 

The  proper  way  to  dress  a  young  girl  is  to  have  a  cotton 

or  flannel  close-fitting  jacket 

next  the  body,  to  which  the 

drawers  should  be  buttoned. 

Over  this,  place  the  chemise; 

and  over  that,  such  a  jacket 

as    the    one    here    drawn,  to 

which  should  be  buttoned  the 

hoops  and  other  skirts.     Thus 

every  article  of  dress  will  be 

supported    by  the  ,  shoulders. 

The  sleeves  of  the  jacket  can 

be  omitted,  and  in  that  case  a 

strong  lining,  and  also  a  tape  binding,  must  surround  the 

arm-hole,  which  should  be  loose. 


63. 


CLOTHING.  165 

Tt  is  hoped  that  increase  of  intelligence  and  moral  power 
among  mothers,  and  a  combination  among  them  to  regulate 
fashions,  may  banish  the  pernicious  practices  that  have  pre- 
vailed. If  a  school-girl  dress  without  corsets  and  without 
tigl4  belts  could  be  established  as  a  fashion,  it  would  be 
one  step  gained  in  the  right  direction.  Then  if  mothers 
could  secure  daily  domestic  exercise  in  chambers,  eating- 
rooms  and  parlors  in  loose  dresses,  a  still  farther  advance 
would  be  secured. 

A  friend  of  the  writer  inforfns  her  that  her  daughter  had 
her  wedding  outfit  made  up  by  a  fashionable  milliner  in 
Paris,  and  every  dress  was  beautifully  fitted  to  the  form, 
and  yet  was  not  compressing  to  any  part.  This  was  done 
too  without  the  use  of  corsets,  the  stiffening  being  delicate 
and  yielding  whalebones. 

Not  only  parents  but  all  having  the  care  of  young  girls, 
especially  those  at  boarding-schools,  have  a  fearful  responsi- 
bility resting  upon  them  in  regard  to  this  important  duty. 

In  regard  to  the  dressing  of  young  children,  much  discre- 
tion is  needed  to  adapt  dress  to  circumstances  and  peculiar 
constitutions.  The  leading  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  skin  is  made  strong  and  healthful  by  exposure  to  light  and 
pure  air,  while  cold  air,  if  not  excessive,  has  a  tonic  influence. 
If  the  skill  of  infants  is  rubbed  with  the  hand  till  red  with 
blood,  and  then  exposed  naked  to  sun  and  air  in  a  well-ven- 
tilated room,  it  will  be  favorable  to  health. 

There  is  a  constitutional  difference  in  the  skin  of  different 
children  in  regard  to  retaining  the  animal  heat  manufactur- 
ed within,  so  that  some  need  more  clothing  than  others  for 
comfort.  Nature  is  a  safe  guide  to  a  careful  nurse  and 
mother,  and  will  indicate  by  the  looks  and  actions  of  a  child 
when  more  clothing  is  needful.  As  a  general  rule,  it  is 
safe  for  a  healthful  child  to  wear  as  little  clothing  as  suffi- 
ces to  keep  it  from  complaining  of  cold.  Fifty  years  ago, 
it  was  not  common  for  children  to  wear  as  much  under-cloth- 
ing as  they  now  do.  The  writer  well  remembers  how  even 


166  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

girls,  though  not  of  strong  constitutions,  used  to  play  for  hours 
in  the  snow-drifts  without  the  protection  of  drawers,  kept 
warm  by  exercise  and  occasional  runs  to  an  open  fire.  Arid 
multitudes  of  children  grew  to  vigorous  maturity  through 
similar  exposures  to  cold  air-baths,  and  without  the  frequent 
colds  and  sicknesses  so  common  among  children  of  the 
present  day,  who  are  more  carefully  housed  and  warmly 
dressed.  But  «are  was  taken  that  the  feet  should  be  kept 
dry  and  warmly  clad,  Because,  circulation  being  feebler  in 
the  extremities,  this  precaution  was  important. 

It  must  also  be  considered  that  age  brings  with  it  decrease 
in  vigor  of  circulation,  and  the  consequent  generation  of 
heat,  so  that  more  warmth  of  air  and  clothing  is  needed  at 
an  advanced  period  of  life  than  is  suitable  for  the  young. 

These  are  the  general  principles  which  must  be  applied 
with  modification  to  each  individual  case.  A  child  of  deli- 
cate constitution  must  have  more  careful  protection  from 
cold  air  than  is  desirable  for  one  more  vigorous,  while  the 
leading  general  principle  is  retained  that  cold  air  is  a  health- 
ful tonic  for  the  skin  whenever  it  does  not  produce  an  un- 
comfortable chilliness. 


GOOD   COOKING. 

THERE  are  but  a  few  things  on  which  health  and  'happi- 
ness depend  more  than  on  the  manner  in  which  food  is 
cooked.  You  may  make  houses  enchantingly  beautiful, 
hang  them  with  pictures,  have  them  clean  and  airy  and  con- 
venient; but  if  the  stomach  is  fed  with  sour  bread  and 
burnt  meats,  it  will  raise  such  rebellions  that  the  eyes  will 
see  no  beauty  anywhere.  The  abundance  of  splendid  ma- 
terial we  have  in  America  is  in  great  contrast  with  the 
style  of  cooking  most  prevalent  in  our  country.  How  often, 
in  journeys,  do  we  sit  down  to  tables  loaded  with  material, 
originally  of  the  very  best  kind,  which  has  been  so  spoiled 
in  the  treatment  that  there  is  really  nothing  to  eat !  Green 
biscuits  with  acrid  spots  of  alkali ;  sour  yeast-bread  ;  meat 
slowly  simmered  in  fat  till  it  seemed  like  grease  itself,  and 
slowly  congealing  in  cold  grease ;  and  above  all,  that  un- 
pardonable enormity,  strong  butter!  How  one  longs  to 
show  people  what  might  have  been  done  with  the  raw  ma- 
terial out  of  which  all  these  monstrosities  were  concocted ! 

There  is  no  country  where  an  ample,  well-furnished  table 
is  more  easily  spread,  and  for  that  reason,  perhaps,  none 
where  the  bounties  of  Providence  are  more  generally  ne- 
glected. Considering  that  our  resources  are  greater  than 
those  of  any  other  civilized  people,  our  results  are  compara- 
tively poorer. 

It  is  said  that  a  list  of  the  summer  vegetables  which  are 
exhibited  on  New- York  hotel-tables  being  shown  to  a  French 
artiste,  he  declared  that  to  serve  such  a  dinner  properly 


168  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

would  take  till  midnight.  A  traveler  can  not  but  be  struck 
with  OTir  national  plenteousness,  on  returning  from  a  Con- 
tinental tour,  and  going  directly  from  the  ship  to  a  New- 
York  hotel,  in  the  bounteous  season  of  autumn.  For 
months  habituated  to  neat  little  bits  of  chop  or  poultry, 
garnished  with  the  inevitable  cauliflower  or  potato,  wrhich 
seemed  to  be  the  sole  possibility  after  the  reign  of  green 
peas  was  over ;  to  sit  down  all  at  once  to  such  a  carnival !  to 
such  ripe,  juicy  tomatoes,  raw  or  cooked ;  cucumbers  in  brittle 
slices ;  .rich,  yellow  sweet-potatoes ;  broad  lima-beans,  and 
beans  of  other  and  various  names ;  tempting  ears  of  Indian- 
corn  steaming  in  enormous  piles  ;  great  smoking  tureens  of 
the  savory  succotash,  an  Indian  gift  to  the  table  for  which 
civilization  need  not  blush ;  sliced  egg-plant  in  delicate  frit- 
ters ;  and  marrow-squashes,  of  creamy  pulp  and  sweetness ; 
a  rich  variety,  embarrassing  to  the  appetite,  and  perplexing 
to  the  choice. 

Verily,  the  thought  must  often  occur  that  the  vegetarian 
doctrine  preached  in  America  leaves  a  man  quite  as  much 
as  he  has  capacity  to  eat  or  enjoy,  and  that  in  the  midst  of 
such  tantalizing  abundance  he  has  really  lost  the  apology, 
which  elsewhere  bears  him  out  in  preying  upon  his  less  gifted 
and  accomplished  animal  neighbors. 

But  with  all  this,  the  American  table,  taken  as  a  whole, 
is  inferior  to  that  of  England  or  France.  It  presents  a  fine 
abundance  of  material,  carelessly  and  poorly  treated.  The 
management  of  food  is  nowhere  in  the  world,  perhaps, 
more  slovenly  and  wasteful.  Every  thing  betokens  that  want 
of  care  that  waits  on  abundance ;  there  are  great  capabili- 
ties and  poor  execution.  A  tourist  through  England  can 
seldom  fail,  at  the  quietest  country-inn,  of  finding  himself 
served  with  the  essentials  of  English  table-comfort — his 
mutton-chop  done  to  a  turn,  his  steaming  little  private  appa- 
ratus for  concocting  his  own  tea,  his  choice  po't  jf  marmalade 
or  slice  of  cold  ham,  and  his  delicate  rolls  and  creamy  but- 
ter, all  served  with  care  and  neatness.  In  France,  one  never 


GOOD    COOKING.  169 

asks  in  vain  for  delicious  cafi-au-lait,  good  bread  and  but- 
ter, a  nice  omelet,  or  some  savory  little  portion  of  meat  with 
a  French  name.  But  to  a  tourist  taking  like  chance  in 
American  country-fare,  what  is  the  prospect  ?  What  is  the 
coffee?  what  the  tea?  and  the  meat?  and  above  all,  the 
butter  ? 

In  writing  on  cooking,  the  main  topics  should  be  first, 
bread  ;  second,  butter ;  third,  meat ;  fourth,  vegetables ; 
and  fifth,  tea — by  which  last  is  meant,  generically,  all  sorts 
of  warm,  comfortable  drinks  served  out  in  tea-cups,  whether 
they  be  called  tea,  coffee,  chocolate,  broma,  or  what  not. 

If  these  five  departments  are  all  perfect,  the  great  ends 
of  domestic  cookery  are  answered,  so  far  as  the  comfort 
and  well-being  of  life  are  concerned.  There  exists  another 
department,  which  is  often  regarded  by  culinary  amateurs 
and  young  aspirants  as  the  higher  branch  and  very  collegi- 
ate course  of  practical  cookery ;  to  wit,  confectionery,  by 
which  is  designated  all  pleasing  and  complicated  compounds 
of  sweets  and  spices,  devised  not  for  health  and  nourish- 
ment, and  strongly  suspected  of  interfering  with  both- 
mere  tolerated  gratifications  of  the  palate,  which  we  eat, 
not  with  the  expectation  of  being  benefited,  but  only  with 
the  hope  of  not  being  injured  by  them.  In  this  large  de- 
partment rank  all  sorts  of  cakes,  pies,  preserves,  etc.,  whose 
excellence  is  often  attained  by  treading  under  foot  and  dis- 
regarding the  five  grand  essentials. 

There  is  many  a  table  garnished  with  three  or  four 
kinds  of  well-made  cake,  compounded  with  citron  and 
spices  and  all  imaginable  good  things,  where  the  meat 
was  tough  and  greasy,  the  bread  some  hot  preparation 
of  flour,  lard,  saleratus,  and  acid,  and  the  butter  un- 
utterably detestable,  where,  if  the  mistress  of  the  feast 
had  given  the  care,  time,  and  labor  to  preparing  the 
simple  items  of  bread,  butter,  and  meat,  that  she  evi- 
dently had  given  to  the  preparation  of  these  extras,  the  lot 
of  her  guests  and  family  might  be  much  more  comfortable. 


170  THE  AMERICAN    WOMAN* 'S   HOME. 

But  she  does  not  think  of  these  common  articles  as  const! 
tuting  a  good  table.  So  long  as  she  has  puff  pastry,  rich 
black  cake,  clear  jelly  and  preserves,  she  considers  that 
such  unimportant  matters  as  bread,  butter,  and  meat  may 
take  care  of  themselves.  It  is  the  same  inattention  to  com- 
mon things  as  that  which  leads  people  to  build  houses  with 
stone  fronts,  and  window-caps  and  expensive  front-door 
trimmings,  without  bathing-rooms  or  fireplaces,  or  venti- 
lators. 

Those  who  go  into  the  country  looking  for  summer  board 
in  farm-houses  know  perfectly  well  that  a  table  where  the 
butter  is  always  fresh,  the  tea  and  coffee  of  the  best  kinds  and 
well  made,  and  the  meats  properly  kept,  dressed,  and  served, 
is  the  one  table  of  a  hundred,  the  fabulous  enchanted  island. 
It  seems  impossible  to  get  the  idea  into  the  minds  of  many 
people  that  what  is  called  common  food,  carefully  prepared, 
becomes,  in  virtue  of  that  very  care  and  attention,  a  delicacy, 
superseding  the  necessity  of  artificially  compounded  dainties. 

To  begin,  then,  with  the  very  foundation  of  a  good  table 
— Bread :  What  ought  it  to  be  ? 

It  should  be  light,  sweet,  and  tender.  This  matter 
of  lightness  is  the  distinctive  line  between  savage  and 
civilized  bread.  The  savage  mixes  simple  Hour  and  wa- 
ter into  balls  of  paste,  which  he  throws  into  boiling 
water,  and  which  come  out  solid,  glutinous  masses,  of  which 
his  common  saying  is,  "  Man  eat  dis,  he  no  die,"  which  a. 
facetious  traveler  who  was  obliged  to  subsist  on  it  inter- 
preted to  mean,  "  Dis  no  kill  you,  nothing  will."  In  short, 
it  requires  the  stomach  of  a  wild  animal  or  of  a  savage  to 
digest  this  primitive  form  of  bread,  and  of  course  more  or 
less  attention  in  all  civilized  modes  of  bread-making  is  giv- 
en to  producing  lightness.  By  lightness  ib  meant  simply 
that  in  order  to  facilitate  digestion  the  particles  are  to  be 
separated  from  each  other  by  little  holes  or  air-cells ;  and 
all  the  different  methods  of  making  light  bread  are  neither 
more  nor  less  than  the  formation  of  bread  with  these  an 
cells. 


GOOD    COOKING.  171 

So  far  as  we  know,  there  are  four  practicable  methods  of 
aerating  bread ;  namely,  by  fermentation  ;  by  effervescence 
of  an  acid  and  an  alkali;  by  aerated  egg,  or  egg  which  has 
been  filled  with  air  by  the  process  of  beating ;  and  lastly, 
by  pressure  of  some  gaseous  substance  into  the  paste,  by  a 
process  much  resembling  the  impregnation  of  water  in  a 
soda-fountain.  All  these  have  one  and  the  same  object — 
to  give  us  the  cooked  particles  of  our  flour  separated  by 
such  permanent  air-cells  as  will  enable  the  stomach  more 
readily  to  digest  them. 

A  very  common  mode  of  aerating  bread  in  America  is 
by  the  effervescence  of  an  acid  and  an  alkali  in  the  flour. 
The  carbonic  acid  gas  thus  formed  produces  minute  air- 
cells  in  the  bread,  or,  as  the  cook  says,  makes  it  light. 
When  this  process  is  performed  with  exact  attention  to 
chemical  laws,  so  that  the  acid  and  alkali  completely  neu- 
tralize each  other,  leaving  no  overplus  of  either,  the  result 
is  often  very  palatable.  The  difficulty  is,  that  this  is  a  hap- 
py conjunction  of  circumstances  which  seldom  occurs.  The 
acid  most  commonly  employed  is  that  of  sour  milk,  and,  as 
milk  has  many  degrees  of  sourness,  the  rule  of  a  certain 
quantity  of  alkali  to  the  pint  must  necessarily  produce 
very  different  results  at  different  times.  As  an  actual  fact 
where  this  mode  of  making  bread  prevails,  as  we  lament  to 
say  it  does  to  a  great  extent  in  this  country,  one  finds  five 
cases  of  failure  to  one  of  success. 

It  is  a  woeful  thing  that  the  daughters  of  our  land  have 
abandoned  the  old  respectable  mode  of  yeast-brewing  and 
bread-raising  for  this  specious  substitute,  so  easily  made, 
and  so  seldom  well  made.  The  green,  clainmy,  acrid  sub- 
stance, called  biscuit,  which  many  of  our  worthy  republi- 
cans are  obliged  to  eat  in  these  days,  is  wholly  unworthy  of 
the  men  and  wSmen  of  the  republic.  Good  patriots  ought 
not  to  be  put  off  in  that  way — they  deserve  better  fare. 

As  an  occasional  variety,  as  a  household  convenience  for 
obtaining  bread  or  biscuit  at  a  moment's  notice,  the  process 


172  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'' S  HOME. 

of  effervescence  may  be  retained  ;  but  we  earnestly  entreat 
American  housekeepers,  in  scriptural  language,  to  stand  in 
the  way  and  ask  for  the  old  pa.ths,  and  return  to  the  good 
yeast-bread  of  their  sainted  grandmothers. 

If  acid  and  alkali  must  be  used,  by  all  means  let  them 
be  mixed  in  due  proportions.  !No  cook  should  be  left  to 
guess  and  judge  for  herself  about  this  matter.  There  are 
articles  made  by  chemical  rule  which  produce  very  perfect 
results,  and  the  use  of  them  obviates  the  worst  dangers  in 
making  bread  by  effervescence. 

Of  all  processes  of  aeration  in  bread-making,  the  oldest 
and  most  time-honored  mode  is  by  fermentation.  That 
this  was  known  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour  is  evident  from 
the  forcible  simile  in  which  he  compares  the  silent  perme- 
ating force  of  truth  in  human  society  to  the  very  familiar 
household  process  of  raising  bread  by  a  little  yeast. 

There  is,  however,  one  species  of  yeast,  much  used  in 
some  parts  of  the  country,  against  which  protest  should  be 
made.  It  is  called  salt-risings,  or  milk-risings,  and  is  made 
by  mixing  flour,  milk,  and  a  little  salt  together,  and  leaving 
them  to  ferment.  The  bread  thus  produced  is  often  very 
attractive,  when  new  and  made  with  great  care.  It  is  white 
and  delicate,  with  fine,  even  air-cells.  It  has,  however, 
when  kept,  some  characteristics  which  remind  us  of  the 
terms  in  which  our  old  English  Bible  describes  the  effect 
of  keeping  the  manna  of  the  ancient  Israelites,  which  we 
are  informed,  in  words  more  explicit  than  agreeable,  "  stank, 
and  bred  worms."  If  salt-rising  bread  does  not  fulfill  the 
whole  of  this  unpleasant  description,  it  Certainly  does  em- 
phatically a  part  of  it.  The  smell  which  it  has  in  baking, 
and  when  more  than  a  day  old,  suggests  the  inquiry, 
whether  it  is  the  saccharine  or  the  putrid  fermentation  with 
which  it  is  raised.  Whoever  breaks  a  pi'ece  of  it  after  a 
day  or  two,  will  often  see  minute  filaments  or  clammy  strings 
drawing  out  from  the  fragments,  which,  with  the  unmis- 
takable smell,  will  cause  him  to  pause  before  consummat- 
ing a  nearer  acquaintance. 


GOOD    COOKING.  173 

The  fermentation  of  flour  by  means  of  brewer's  or  dis- 
tiller's yeast  produces,  if  rightly  managed,  results  far  more 
palatable  and  wholesome.  The  only  requisites  for  success 
in  it  are,  first,  good  materials,  and,  second,  great  care  in 
rimall  things.  There  are  certain  low-priced  or  damaged 
kinds  of  flour  which  can  never  by  any  kind  of  domestic 
chemistry  be  made  into  good  bread ;  and  to  those  persons 
whose  stomachs  forbid  them  to  eat  gummy,  glutinous  paste, 
under  the  name  of  bread,  there  is  no  economy  in  buying 
these  poor  brands,  even  at  half  the  price  of  good  flour. 

But  good  flour  and  good  yeast  being  supposed,  with  a 
temperature  favorable  to  the  development  of  fermentation, 
the  whole  success  of  the  process  depends  on  the  thorough 
diffusion  of  the  proper  proportion  of  yeast  through  the 
whole  mass,  and  on  stopping  the  subsequent  fermentation 
at  the  precise  and  fortunate  point.  The  true  housewife 
makes  her  bread  the  sovereign  of  her  kitchen — its  behests 
must  be  attended  to  in  all  critical  points  and  moments,  no 
matter  what  else  be  postponed. 

She  who  attends  to  her  bread  only  when  she  has  done  this, 
and  arranged  that,  and  performed  the  other,  very  often 
finds  that  the  forces  of  nature  will  not  wait  for  her.  The 
snowy  mass,  perfectly  mixed,  kneaded  with  care  and 
strength,  rises  in  its  beautiful  perfection  till  the  moment 
comes  for  filling  the  air-cells  by  baking.  A  few  minutes  now, 
and  the  acetous  fermentation  will  begin,  and  the  whole  result 
be  spoiled.  Many  bread-makers  pass  in  utter  carelessness 
over  this  sacred  and  mysterious  boundary.  Their  oven  has 
cake  in  it,  or  they  are  skimming  jelly,  or  attending  to  pome 
other  of  the  so-called  higher  branches  of  cookery,  whi>e  the 
bread  is  quickly  passing  into  the  acetous  stage.  At  last, 
when  they  are  ready  to  attend  to  it,  they  find  that  it  has 
been  going  its  own  way, — it  is  so  sour  that  the  pungent 
smell  is  plainly  perceptible.  Il^ow  the  saleratus-bottle  is 
handed  down,  and  a  quantity  of  the  dissolved  alkali  mixed 
with  the  paste — an  expedient  sometimes  making  itself  too 


174  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN1  S  HOME. 

manifest  by  greenish  streaks  or  small  acrid  spots  in  the 
bread.  As  the  result,  we  have  a  beautiful  article  spoiled 
— bread  without  sweetness,  if  not  absolutely  sour. 

In  the  view  of  many,  lightness  is  the  only  property  re- 
quired in  this  article.  The  delicate  refined  sweetness  which 
exists  in  carefully  kneaded  bread,  baked  just  before  it 
passes  to  the  extreme  point  of  fermentation,  is  something 
of  which  they  have  no  conception  ;  and  thus  they  will  even 
regard  this  process  of  spoiling  the  paste  by  the  acetous  fer- 
mentation, and  then  rectifying  that  acid  by  effervescence 
with  an  alkali,  as  something  positively  meritorious.  How 
else  can  they  value  and  relish  bakers'  loaves,  such  as  some 
are,  drugged  with  ammonia  and  other  disagreeable  things  ; 
light  indeed,  so  light  that  they  seem  to  have  neither  weight 
nor  substance,  but  with  no  more  sweetness  or  taste  than  so 
much  cotton  wool  ? 

Some  persons  prepare  bread  for  the  oven  by  simply  mix- 
ing it  in  the  mass,  without  kneading,  pouring  it  into  pans, 
and  suffering  it  to  rise  there.  The  air-cells  in  bread  thus 
prepared  are  coarse  and  uneven ;  the  bread  is  as  inferior  in 
delicacy  and  nicety  to  that  which  is  well  kneaded  as  a  raw 
servant  to  a  perfectly  educated  and  refined  lady.  The  pro- 
cess of  kneading  seems  to  impart  an  evenness  to  the  minute 
air-cells,  a  fineness  of  texture,  and  a  tenderness  and  plia- 
bility to  the  whole  substance,  that  can  be  gained  in  no  other 
way. 

The  divine  principle  of  beauty  has  its'  reign  over  bread 
as  well  as  over  all  other  things ;  it  has  its  laws  of  aesthetics ; 
and  that  bread  which  is  so  prepared  that  it  can  be  formed 
into  separate  and  well-proportioned  loaves,  each  one  care- 
fully worked  and  moulded,  will  develop  the  most  beautiful 
results.  After  being  moulded,  the  loaves  should  stand  usually 
not  over  ten  minutes,  just  long  enough  to  allow  the  fermenta- 
tion going  on  in  them  to  expand  each  little  air-cell  to  the 
point  at  which  it  stood  before  it  was  worked  down,  and  then 
they  should  be  immediately  put  into  the  oven. 


GOOD    COOKING.  175 

Many  a  good  thing,  however,  is  spoiled  in  the  oven.  We 
can  not  but  regret,  for  the  sake  of  bread,  that  our  old 
steady  brick  ovens  have  been  almost  universally  superseded 
by  those  of  ranges  and  cooking-stoves,  which  are  infinite  in 
their  caprices,  and  forbid  all  general  rules.  One  thing, 
however,  may  be  borne  in  mind  as  a  principle — that  the 
excellence  of  bread  in  all  its  varieties,  plain  or  sweetened, 
depends  on  the  perfection  of  its  air-cells,  whether  produced 
by  yeast,  egg,  or  effervescence ;  that  one  of  the  objects  of 
baking  is  to  fix  these  air-cells,  and  that  the  quicker  this  can 
be  done  through  the  whole  mass,  the  better  will  the  result 
be.  When  cake  or  bread  is  made  heavy  by  baking  too 
quickly,  it  is  because  the  immediate  formation  of  the  top 
crust  hinders  the  exhaling  of  the  moisture  in  the  centre, 
and  prevents  the  air-cells  from  cooking.  The  weight  also 
of  the  crust  pressing  down  on  the  doughy  air-cells  below  de- 
stroys them,  producing  that  horror  of  good  cooks,  a  heavy 
streak.  The  problem  in  baking,  then,  is  the  quick  applica- 
tion of  heat  rather  below  than  above  the  loaf,  and  its  steady 
continuance  till  all  the  air-cells  are  thoroughly  dried  into 
permanent  consistency.  Every  housewife  must  watch  her 
own  oven  to  know  how  this  can  be  best  accomplished. 

Bread-making  can  be  cultivated  to  any  extent  as  a  fine 
art — and  the  various  kinds  of  biscuit,  tea-rusks,  twists, 
rolls,  into  which  bread  may  be  made,  are  much  better  worth 
a  housekeeper's  ambition  than  the  getting-up  of  rich  and 
expensive  cake  or  confections.  There  are  also  varieties  of 
material  which  are  rich  in  good  effects.  Unbolted  flour, 
altogether  more  wholesome  than  the  fine  wheat,  and  when 
properly  prepared  more  palatable — rye-flour  and  corn-meal, 
each  affording  a  thousand  attractive  possibilities — all  of 
these  come  under  the  general  laws  of  bread-stuffs,  and  are 
worth  a  careful  attention. 

A  peculiarity  of  our  American  table,  particularly  in  the 
Southern  and  Western  States,  is  the  constant  exhibition  of 
various  preparations  of  hot  bread.  In  many  families  of  the 


176  THE  AMERICAN  WOMArf  S  HOME. 

South  and  "West,  bread  in  loaves  to  be  eaten  cold  is  an  ar- 
ticle quite  unknown.  The  effect  of  this  kind  of  diet  upon 
the  health  has  formed  a  frequent  subject  of  remark  among 
travelers ;  but  only  those  know  the  full  mischiefs  of  it  who 
have  been  compelled  to  sojourn  for  a  length  of  time  in 
families  where  it  is  maintained.  The  unknown  horrors  of 
dyspepsia  from  bad  bread  are  a  topic  over  which  we  will- 
ingly draw  a  vail. 

Next  to  Bread  comes  Butter — on  which  we  have  to  say, 
that,  when  we  remember  what  butter  is  in  civilized  Europe, 
and  compare  it  with  what  it  is  in  America,  we  wonder  at 
the  forbearance  and  lenity  of  travelers  in  their  strictures  on 
our  national  commissariat. 

Butter,  in  England,  France,  and  Italy,  is  simply  solidified 
cream,  with  all  the  sweetness  of  the  cream  in  its  taste,  fresh- 
ly churned  each  day,  and  unadulterated  by  salt.  At  the 
present  moment,  when  salt  is  five  cents  a  pound  and  butter 
fifty,  we  Americans  are  paying,  at  high  prices,  for  about  one 
pound  of  salt  to  every  ten  of  butter,  and  those  of  us  who 
have  eaten  the  butter  of  France  and  England  do  this  with 
rueful  recollections. 

There  is,  it  is  true,  an  article  of  butter  made  in  the 
American  style  with  salt,  which,  in  its  own  kind  and  way, 
has  a  merit  not  inferior  to  that  of  England  and  France. 
Many  prefer  it,  and  it  certainly  takes  a  rank  equally  respect- 
able with  the  other.  It  is  yellow,  hard,  and  worked  so 
perfectly  free  from  every  particle  of  buttermilk  that  it 
might  make  the  voyage  of  the  world  without  spoiling.  It 
is  salted,  but  salted  with  care  and  delicacy,  so  that  it  may 
be  a  question  whether  even  a  fastidious  Englishman  might 
not  prefer  its  golden  solidity  to  the  white,  creamy  freshness 
of  his  own.  But  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  article  is  the 
exception,  and  not  the  rule,  on  our  tables. 

America  must  have  the  credit  of  manufacturing  and  put- 
ting into  market  more  bad  butter  than  all  that  is  made  in 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  together.  The  varieties  of  bad 


GOOD    COOKING.  177 

tastes  and  smells  which  prevail  in  it  are  quite  a  study. 
This  has  a  cheesy  taste,  that  a  mouldy,  this  is  flavored  with 
cabbage,  and  that  again  with  turnip,  and  another  has  the 
strong,  sharp  savor  of  rancid  animal  fat.  These  varieties 
probably  come  from  the  practice  of  churning  only  at  long 
intervals,  and  keeping  the  cream  meanwhile  in  unventilated 
cellars  or  dairies,  the  air  of  which  is  loaded  with  the  efflu- 
via of  vegetable  substances.  No  domestic  articles  are  so 
sympathetic  as  those  of  the  milk  tribe :  they  readily  take 
on  the  smell  and  taste  of  any  neighboring  substance,  and 
hence  the  infinite  variety  of  flavors  on  which  one  mournful- 
ly muses  who  has  late  in  autumn  to  taste  twenty  firkins  of 
butter  in  hopes  of  finding  one  which  will  simply  not  be  in 
tolerable  on  his  winter  table. 

A  matter  for  despair  as  regards  bad  butter  is,  that  at  the 
tables  where  it  is  used  it  stands  sentinel  at  the  door  to  bar 
your  way  to  every  other  kind  of  food.  You  turn  from  your 
dreadful  half -slice  of  bread,  which  fills  your  mouth  with 
bitterness,  to  your  beef-steak,  which  proves  virulent  with 
the  same  poison ;  you  think  to  take  refuge  in  vegetable  diet, 
and  find  the  butter  in  the  string-beans,  and  polluting  the  in- 
nocence of  early  peas ;  it  is  in  the  corn,  in  the  succotash,  in 
the  squash ;  the  beets  swim  in  it,  the  onions  have  it  poured 
over  them.  Hungry  and  miserable,  you  think  to  solace 
yourself  at  the  dessert ;  but  the  pastry  is  cursed,  the  cake  is 
acrid  with  the  same  plague.  You  are  ready  to  howl  with 
despair,  and  your  misery  is  great  upon  you — especially  if 
this  is  a  table  where  you  have  taken  board  for  three  months 
with  your  delicate  wTife  and  four  small  children.  Your  case 
is  dreadful,  and  it  is  hopeless,  because  long  usage  and  habit 
have  rendered  your  host  perfectly  incapable  of  discovering 
what  is  the  matter.  "  Don't  like  the  butter,  sir  ?  I  assure 
you  I  paid  an  extra  price  for  it,  and  it's  the  very  best  in  the 
market.  I  looked  over  as  many  as  a  hundred  tubs,  and 
picked  out  this  one."  You  are  dumb,  but  not  less  despair- 
ing. 


178 

Yet  the  process  of  making  good  butter  is  a  very  simple 
one.  To  keep  the  cream  in  a  perfectly  pure,  cool  atmo- 
sphere, to  churn  while  it  is  yet  sweet,  to  work  out  the  but- 
termilk thoroughly,  and  to  add  salt  with  such  discretion  as 
not  to  ruin  the  fine,  delicate  flavor  of  the  fresh  cream — all 
this  is  quite  simple,  so  simple  that  one  wonders  at  thousands 
and  millions  of  pounds  of  butter  yearly  manufactured 
which  are  merely  a  hobgoblin  bewitchment  of  cream  .into 
foul  and  loathsome  poisons. 

The  third  head  of  my  discourse  is  that  of  Meat,  of  which 
America  furnishes,  in  the  gross  material,  enough  to  spread 
our  tables  royally,  were  it  well  cared  for  and  served. 

The  faults  in  the  meat  generally  furnished  to  us  are,  first, 
that  it  is  too  new.  A  beef  steak,  which  three  or  four  days 
of  keeping  might  render  palatable,  is  served  up  to  us  palpi- 
tating with  freshness,  with  all  the  toughness  of  animal  mus- 
cle yet  warm. 

In  the  next  place,  there  is  a  woeful  lack  of  nicety  in  the 
butcher's  work  of  cutting  and  preparing  meat.  Who  that 
remembers  the  neatly  trimmed  mutton-chop  of  an  English 
inn,  or  the  artistic  little  circle  of  lamb-chop  fried  in  bread- 
crumbs coiled  around  a  tempting  centre  of  spinach  which 
may  always  be  found  in  France,  can  recognize  any  family 
resemblance  to,  those  dapper,  civilized  preparations,  in  these 
coarse,  roughly -hacked  strips  of  bone,  gristle,  and  meat 
^fhich  are  commonly  called  mutton-chop  in  America? 
There  seems  to  be  a  large  dish  of  something  resembling 
meat,  in  which  each  fragment  has  about  two  or  three  edible 
morsels,  the  rest  being  composed  of  dry  and  burnt  skin,  fat, 
and  ragged  bone. 

Is  it  not  time  that  civilization  should  learn  to  demand 
somewhat  more  care  and  nicety  in  the  modes  of  preparing 
what  is  to  be  cooked  and  eaten  ?  Might  not  some  of  the  re- 
finement and  trimness  which  characterize  the  preparations 
of  the  European  market  be  with  advantage  introduced  into 
our  own  ?  The  housekeeper  who  wishes  to  garnish  her  ta 


GOOD    COOKING.  179 

ble  with  some  of  those  nice  things  is  stopped  in  the  outset 
by  the  butcher.  Except  in  our  large  cities,  where  some  for- 
eign travel  may  have  created  the  demand,  it  seems  impossi- 
ble to  get  much  in  this  line  that  is  properly  prepared. 

If  this  is  urged  on  the  score  of  aesthetics,  the  ready  reply 
will  be,  "  Oh !  we  can't  give  time  here  in  America  to  go  into 
niceties  and  French  whim-whams  !"  But  the  French  mode 
of  doing  almost  all  practical  things  is  based  on  that  true 
philosophy  and  utilitarian  good  sense  which  characterize 
that  seemingly  thoughtless  people.  Nowhere  is  economy  a 
more  careful  study,  and  their  market  is  artistically  arranged 
to  this  end.  The  rule  is  so  to  cut  their  meats  that  no  por- 
tion designed  to  be  cooked  in  a  certain  manner  shall  have 
wasteful  appendages  which  that  mode  of  cooking  will  spoil. 
The  French  soup-kettle  stands  ever  ready  to  receive  the 
bones,  the  thin  fibrous  flaps,  the  sinewy  and  gristly  portions, 
which  are  so  often  included  in  our  roasts  or  broilings,  which 
fill  our  plates  with  unsightly  debris,  and  finally  make  an 
amount  of  blank  waste  for  which  we  pay  our  butcher  the 
same  price  that  we  pay  for  what  we  have  eaten. 

The  dead  waste  of  our  clumsy,  coarse  way  of  cutting 
meats  is  immense.  For  example,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
season,  the  part  of  a  lamb  denominated  leg  and  loin,  or 
hind-quarter,  may  sell  for  thirty  cents  a  pound.,  Now  this 
includes,  besides  the  thick,  fleshy  portions,  a  quantity  of 
bone,  sinew,  and  thin  fibrous  substance,  constituting  full 
one  third  of  the  whole  weight.  If  we  put  it  into  the  oven 
entire,  in  the  usual  manner,  we  have  the  thin  parts  over- 
done, and  the  skinny  and  fibrous  parts  utterly  dried  up,  by 
the  application  of  the  amount  of  heat  necessary  to  cook 
the  thick  portion.  Supposing  the  joint  to  weigh  six  pounds, 
at  thirty  cents,  and  that  one  third  of  the  weight  is  so  treat- 
ed as  to  become  perfectly  useless,  we  throw  away  sixty 
cents.  Of  a  piece  of  beef  at  twenty-five  cents  a  pound, 
fifty  cents'  worth  is  often  lost  in  bone,  fat,  and  burnt  skin. 

The  fact  is,  this  way  of  selling  and  cooking  meat  in 


180  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

large,  gross  portions  is  of  English  origin,  and  belongs  to  a 
country  where  all  the  customs  of  society  spring  from  a  class 
who  have  no  particular  occasion  for  economy.  The  prac- 
tice of  minute  and  delicate  division  comes  from  a  nation 
which  acknowledges  the  need  of  economy,  and  has  made  it 
a  study.  A  quarter  of  lamb  in  this  mode  of  division  would 
be  sold  in  three  nicely  prepared  portions.  The  thick  part 
would  be  sold  by  itself,  for  a  neat,  compact  little  roast ; 
the  rib-bones  would  be  artistically  separated,  and  all  the 
edible  matter  would  form  those  delicate  dishes  of  lamb- 
chop,  which,  fried  in  bread-crumbs  to  a  golden  brown, 
are  so  ornamental  and  palatable  a  side-dish ;  the  trimmings 
which  remain  after  this  division  would  be  destined  to  the 
soup-kettle  or  stew-pan. 

In  a  French  market  is  a  little  portion  for  every  purse, 
and  the  far-famed  and  delicately  flavored  soups  and  stews 
which  have  arisen  out  of  French  economy  are  a  study  worth 
a  housekeeper's  attention.  ]STot  one  atom  of  food  is  wasted 
in  the  French  modes  of  preparation ;  even  tough  animal 
cartilages  and  sinews,  instead  of  appearing  burned  and 
blackened  in  company  with  the  roast  meat  to  which  they 
happen  to  be  related,  are  treated  according  to  their  own 
laws,  and  come  out  either  in  savory  soups,  or  those  fine, 
clear  meat-jellies  which  form  a  garnish  no  less  agreeable  to 
the  eye  than  palatable  to  the  taste. 

Whether  this  careful,  economical,  practical  style  of  meat- 
cooking  can  ever  to  any  great  extent  be  introduced  into  our 
kitchens  now  is  a  question.  Our  butchers  are  against  it ; 
our  servants  are  wedded  to  the  old  wholesale  wasteful  ways, 
which  seem  to  them  easier  because  they  are  accustomed  to 
them.  A  cook  who  will  keep  and  properly  tend  a  soup- 
kettle  which  shall  receive  and  utilize  all  that  the  coarse 
preparations  of  the  butcher  would  require  her  to  trim  away, 
who  understands  the  art  of  making  the  most  of  all  these 
remains  is  a  treasure  scarcely  to  be  hoped  for.  If  such 
things  ai3  to  be  done,  it  must  be  primarily  through  the 


GOOD   COOKING.  181 

educated  brain  of  cultivated  women  who  do  not  scorn  to 
turn  their  culture  and  refinement  upon  domestic  problems. 

When  meats  have  been  properly  divided,  so  that  each 
portion  can  receive  its  own  appropriate  style  of  treatment, 
next  comes  the  consideration  of  the  modes  of  cooking. 
These  may  be  divided  into  two  great  general  classes :  those 
where  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  juices  within  the  meat,  as  in 
baking,  broiling,  and  frying — and  those  whose  object  is  to 
extract  the  juice  and  dissolve  the  fibre,  as  in  the  making 
of  soups  and  stews.  In  the  first  class  of  operations,  the 
process  must  be  as  rapid  as  may  consist  with  the  thorough 
cooking  of  all  the  particles.  In  this  branch  of  cookery, 
doing  quickly  is  doing  well.  The  fire  must  be  brisk,  the 
attention  alert.  The  introduction  of  cooking-stoves  offers 
to  careless  domestics  facilities  for  gradually  drying-up 
meats,  and  despoiling  them  of  all  flavor  and  nutriment — 
facilities  which  appear  to  be  very  generally  accepted. 
They  have  almost  banished  the  genuine,  old-fashioned 
roast-meat  from  our  tables,  and  left  in  its  stead  dried  meats 
with  their  most  precious  and  nutritive  juices  evaporated. 
How  few  cooks,  unassisted,  are  competent  to  the  simple 
process  of  broiling  a  beefsteak  or  mutton-chop !  how  very 
generally  one  has  to  choose  between  these  meats  gradually 
dried  away,  or  burned  on  the  outside  and  raw  within ! 
Yet  in  England  these  articles  never  come  on  the  table  done 
amiss  ;  their  perfect  cooking  is  as  absolute  a  certainty  as  the 
rising  of  the  sun. 

No  one  of  these  rapid  processes  of  cooking,  however,  is 
BO  generally  abused  as  frying.  The  frying-pan  has  awful 
sins  to  answer  for.  What  untold  horrors  of  dyspepsia  have 
arisen  from  its  smoky  depths,  like  the  ghost  from  witches' 
caldrons !  The  fizzle  of  frying  meat  is  a  warning  knell  on 
many  an  ear,  saying,  "  Touch  not,  taste  not,  if  you  would 
not  burn  and  writhe  1" 

Yet  those  who  have  traveled  abroad  remember  that 
some  of  the  lightest,  most  palatable,  and  most  digestible 


182  THE   AMERICAN    WOMAN'S  HOME. 

+ 

preparations  of  meat  have  come  from  this  dangerous 
source.  But  we  fancy  quite  other  rites  and  ceremonies 
inaugurated  the  process,  and  quite  other  hands  performed 
its  offices,  than  those  known  to  our  kitchens.  Probably  the 
delicate  cdtelettes  of  France  are  not  flopped  down  into  half- 
melted  grease,  there  gradually  to  warm  and  soak  and  fizzle, 
while  Biddy  goes  in  and  out  on  her  other  ministrations,  till 
finally,  when  they  are  thoroughly  saturated,  and  dinner -hour 
impends,  she  bethinks  herself,  and  crowds  the  fire  below  to 
a  roaring  heat,  and  finishes  the  process  by  a  smart  burn,  in- 
volving the  kitchen  and  surrounding  precincts  in  volumes 
of  Stygian  gloom.  From  such  preparations  has  arisen  the 
very  current  medical  opinion  that  fried  meats  are  indigesti- 
ble. They  are  indigestible,  if  they  are  greasy ;  but  French 
cooks  have  taught  us  that  a  thing  has  no  more  need  to 
be  greasy  because  emerging  from  grea'se  than  Venus  had 
to  be  salt  because  she  rose  from  the  sea. 

There  are  two  ways  of  frying  employed  by  the  French 
cook.  One  is,  to  immerse  the  article  to  be  cooked  in  boil- 
ing fat,  with  an  emphasis  on  the  present  participle — and 
the  philosophical  principle  is,  so  immediately  to  crisp  every 
pore,  at  the  first  moment  or  two  of  immersion,  as  effectually 
to  seal  the  interior  against  the  intrusion  of  greasy  particles ; 
it  can  then  remain  as  long  as  may  be  necessary  thoroughly 
to  cook  it,  without  imbibing  any  more  of  the  boiling  fluid 
than  if  it  were  inclosed  in  an  egg-shell.  The  other  method 
is  to  rub  a  perfectly  smooth  iron  surface  with  just  enough 
of  some  oily  substance  to  prevent  the  meat  from  adhering, 
and  cook  it  with  a  quick  heat,  as  cakes  are  baked  on  a 
griddle.  In  both  these  cases  there  must  be  the  most  rapid 
application  of  heat  that  can  be  made  without  burning,  and 
by  the  adroitness  shown  in  working  out  this  problem  the 
skill  of  the  cook  -is  tested.  Any  one  whose  cook  attains 
this  important  secret  will  find  fried  things  quite  as  digestible, 
and  often  more  palatable,  than  any  other. 

In  the  second  department  of  meat-cookery,  to  wit,  the 


GOOD   COOKING.  183 

slow  and  gradual  application  of  heat  for  the  softening  and 
dissolution  of  its  fibre  and  the  extraction  of  its  juices, 
common  cooks  are  equally  untrained.  Where  is  the  so- 
called  cook  who  understands  how  to  prepare  soups  and 
etews?  These  are  precisely  the  articles  in  which  a 
French  kitchen  excels.  The  soup-kettle,  made  with  a 
double  bottom,  to  prevent  burning,  is  a  permanent,  ever- 
present  institution,  and  the  coarsest  and  most  impracticable 
meats  distilled  through  that  alembic  come  out  again  in 
soups,  jellies,  or  savory  stewst  The  toughest  cartilage,  even 
the  bones,  being  first  cracked,  are  here  made  to  give  forth 
their  hidden  virtues,  and  to  rise  in  delicate  and  appetizing 
forms. 

One  great  law  governs  all  these  preparations :  the  appli- 
cation of  heat  must  be  gradual,  steady,  long  protracted, 
never  reaching  the  point  of  active  boiling.  Hours  of  quiet 
simmering  dissolve  all  dissoluble  parts,  soften  the  sternest 
fibre,  and  unlock  every  minute  cell  in  which  Nature  has 
stored  away  her  treasures  of  nourishment.  This  careful 
and  protracted  application  of  heat  and  the  skillful  use  of 
flavors  constitute  the  two  main  points  in  all  those  nice 
preparations  of  meat  for  which  the  French  have  so  many 
names — processes  by  which  a  delicacy  can  be  imparted  to 
the  coarsest  and  cheapest  food  superior  -to  that  of  the  finest 
articles  under  less  philosophic  treatment. 

French  soups  and  stews  are  a  study,  and  they  would 
not  be  an  unprofitable  one  to  any  person  who  wishes  to 
live  with  comfort  and  even  elegance  on  small  means. 

There  is  no  animal  fibre  that  will  not  yield  itself  up  to  long- 
continued,  steady  heat.  But  the  difficulty  with  almost  any 
of  the  common  servants  who  call  themselves  cooks  is,  that 
they  have  not  the  smallest  notion  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
application  of  heat.  Such  a  one  will  complacently  tell  you 
concerning  certain  meats,  that  the  harder  you  boil  them  the 
harder  they  grow — an  obvious  fact  which,  under  her  mode 
of  treatment  by  an  indiscriminate  galloping  boil,  has  fre« 


184  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN* S  HOME. 

quently  come  under  her  personal  observation.  If  you  tell 
her  that  such  meat  must  stand  for  six  hours  in  a  heat  just 
below  the  boiling  point,  she  will  probably  answer,  "  Yes, 
ma'am,"  and  go  on  her  own  way.  Or  she  will  let  it  stand 
till  it  burns  to  the  bottom  of  the  kettle — a  most  common 
termination  of  the  experiment.  « 

The  only  way  to  make  sure  of  the  matter  is,  either  to  ob- 
tain a  French  kettle,  or  to  fit  into  an  ordinary  kettle  a  false 
bottom,  such  as  any  tinman  may  make,  that  shall  leave  a 
space  of  an  inch  or  two  between  the  meat  and  the  fire. 
This  kettle  may  be  maintained  in  a  constant  position  on 
the  range,  and  into  it  the  cook  may  be  instructed  to  throw 
all  the  fibrous  trimmings  of  meat,  all  the  gristle,  tendons, 
and  bones,  having  previously  broken  up  these  last  with  a 
mallet.  Such  a  kettle,  the  regular  occupant  of  a  French 
cooking-stove,  which  they  call  the  pot  au  feu^  will  furnish 
the  basis  for  clear,  rich  soups,  or  other  palatable  dishes.  This 
is  ordinarily  called  "  stock." 

Clear  soup  consists  of  the  dissolved  juices  of  the  meat 
and  gelatine  of  the  bones,  cleared  from  the  fat  and  fibrous 
portions  by  straining.  The  grease,  which  rises  to  the  top  of 
the  fluid,  may  be  easily  removed  when  cold. 

English  and  American  soups  are  often  heavy  and  hot 
with  spices.  There  are  appreciable  tastes  in  them.  They 
burn  your  mouth  with  cayenne,  or  clove,  or  allspice.  You 
can  tell  at  once  what  is  in  them,  oftentimes  to  your  sorrow. 
But  a  French  soup  has  a  flavor  which  one  recognizes  at 
once  as  delicious,  yet  not  to  be  characterized  as  due  to  any 
single  condiment ;  it  is  the  just  blending  of  many  things. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  all  their  stews,  ragouts,  and 
other  delicate  preparations.  No  cook  will  ever  study  these 
flavors ;  but  perhaps  many  cooks'  mistresses  may,  and  thus 
be  able  to  impart  delicacy  and  comfort  to  economy. 

As  to  those  things  called  hashes,  commonly  manufac- 
tured by  uri watched,  untaught  cooks  out  of  the  remains  of 
yesterday's  meal,  let  us  not  dwell  too  closely  on  their  mem- 


GOOD   COOKING.  185 

ory — compounds  of  meat,  gristle,  skin,  fat,  and  burnt  fibre, 
with  a  handful  of  pepper  and  salt  flung  at  them,  dredged 
with  lumpy  flour,  watered  from  the  spout  of  the  tea-kettle, 
and  left  to  simmer  at  the  cook's  convenience  while  she  is 
otherwise  occupied.  Such  are  the  best  performances  a 
housekeeper  can  hope  for  from  an  untrained  cook. 

But  the  cunningly  devised  minces,  the  artful  preparations 
choicely  flavored,  which  may  be  made  of  yesterday's  repast 
— by  these  is  the  true  domestic  artist  known.  No  cook  un- 
taught by  an  educated  brain  ever  makes  these,  and  yet 
economy  is  a  great  gainer  by  them. 

As  regards  the  department  of  Vegetables,  their  number 
and  variety  in  America  are  so  great  that  a  table  might  al- 
most be  furnished  by  these  alone.  Generally  speaking, 
their  cooking  is  a  more  simple  art,  and  therefore  more  like- 
ly to  be  found  satisfactorily  performed,  than  that  of  meats. 
If  only  they  are  not  drenched  with  rancid  butter,  their  own 
native  excellence  makes  itself  known  in  most  of  the  ordi- 
nary modes  of  preparation. 

There  is,  however,  one  exception.  Our  staunch  old 
friend,  the  potato,  is  to  other  vegetables  what  bread  is  on 
the  table.  Like  bread,  it  is  held  as  a  sort  of  sine-qua-non  ; 
like  that,  it  may  be  made  invariably  palatable  by  a  little 
care  in  a  few  plain  particulars,  through  neglect  of  which 
it  often  becomes  intolerable.  The  soggy,  waxy,  indigesti- 
ble viand  that  often  appears  in  the  potato-dish  is  a  down- 
right sacrifice  of  the  better  nature  of  this  vegetable. 

The  potato,  nutritive  and  harmless  as  it  appears,  belongs 
to  a  family  suspected  of  very  dangerous  traits.  It  is  a 
family  connection  of  the  deadly-nightshade  and  other  ill-re- 
puted gentry,  and  sometimes  shows  strange  proclivities  to 
evil — now  breaking  out  uproariously,  as  in  the  noted  pota- 
to-rot, and  now  more  covertly,  in  various  evil  affections. 
For  this  reason  scientific  directors  bid  us  beware  of  the  wa- 
ter in  which  potatoes  are  boiled — into  which,  it  appears,  the 
evil  principle  is  drawn  off;  and  they  caution  us  not  to  shred 


186  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN9 S  HOME. 

them  into  stews  without  previously  suffering  the  slices  to  lie 
for  an  hour  or  so  in  salt  and  water.  These  cautions  are 
worth  attention. 

The  most  usual  modes  of  preparing  the  potato  for  the  ta- 
ble are  by  roasting  or  boiling.  These  processes  are  so  sim- 
ple that  it  is  commonly  supposed  every  cook  understands 
them  without  special  directions ;  and  yet  there  is  scarcely 
an  uninstructed  cook  who  can  boil  or  roast  a  potato. 

A  good  roasted  potato  is  a  delicacy  worth  a  dozen  coin- 
positrons  of  the  cook-book ;  yet  when  we  ask  for  it,  what 
burnt,  shriveled  abortions  are  presented  to  us !  Biddy 
rushes  to  her  potato-basket  and  pours  out  two  dozen  of  dif- 
ferent sizes,  some  having  in  them  three  times  the  amount  of 
matter  of  others.  These  being  washed,  she  tumbles  them 
into  her  oven  at  a  leisure  interval,  and  there  lets  them  lie  till 
it  is  time  to  serve  breakfast,  whenever  that  may  be.  As  a 
result,  if  the  largest  are  cooked,  the  smallest  are  presented 
in  cinders,  and  the  intermediate  sizes  are  withered  and  wa- 
tery. Nothing  is  so  utterly  ruined  by  a  few  moments  of 
overdoing.  That  which  at  the  right  moment  was  plump 
with  mealy  richness,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  shrivels 
and  becomes  watery — and  it  is  in  this  state  that  roast  pota- 
toes are  most  frequently  served. 

In  the  same  manner  we  have  seen  boiled  potatoes  from 
an  untaught  cook  coming  upon  the  table  like  lumps  of  fel- 
low wax — and  the  same  article,  under  the  directions  of  a 
skillful  mistress,  appearing  in  snowy  balls  of  powdery  white- 
ness. In  the  one  case,  they  were  thrown  in  their  skins  into 
water,  and  suffered  to  soak  or  boil,  as  the  case  might  be,  at 
the  cook's  leisure,  and  after  they  were  boiled  to  stand  in 
the  water  till  she  was  ready  to  peel  them.  In  the  other 
case,  the  potatoes  being  first  peeled  were  boiled  as  quickly 
as  possible  in  salted  water,  which  the  moment  they  were 
done  was  drained  off,  and  then  they  were  gently  shaken 
for  a  moment  or  two  over  the  fire  to  dry  them  still  more 
thoroughly.  We  have  never  yet  seen  the  potato  so  de- 


GOOD   COOKING.  1ft/ 

praved  and  given  over  to  evil  that  it  could  not  be  reclaimed 
by  this  mode  of  treatment. 

As  to  fried  potatoes,  who  that  remembers  the  crisp,  gold- 
en slices  of  the  French  restaurant,  thin  as  wafers  and  light 
as  snow-flakes,  does  not  speak  respectfully  of  them  ?  What 
cousinship  with  these  have  those  coarse,  greasy  masses  of 
sliced  potato,  wholly  soggy  and  partly  burnt,  to  which  we 
are  treated  under  the  name  of  fried  potatoes  in  America  ? 
In  our  cities  the  restaurants  are  introducing  the  French 
article  to  great  acceptance,  and  to  the  vindication  of  the 
fair  fame  of  this  queen  of  vegetables. 

Finally,  we  arrive  at  the  last  great  head  of  our  subject, 
to  wit — Tea — meaning  thereby,  as  before  observed,  what 
our  Hibernian  friend  did  in  the  inquiry,  "  Will  y'r  honor 
take  c  tay  tay '  or  coffee  tay  ?" 

We  are  not  about  to  enter  into  the  merits  of  the  great 
tea-and-coffee  controversy,  further  than  in  our  general  cau- 
tion concerning  them  in  the  chapter  on  Healthful  Drinks  ; 
but  we  now  proceed  to  treat  of  them  as  actual  existences, 
and  speak  only  of  the  modes  of  making  the  best  of  them. 

The  French  coffee  is  reputed  the  best  in  the  world  ;  and 
a  thousand  voices  have  asked,  What  is  it  about  the  French 
coffee  ? 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  French  coffee  is  coffee,  and 
not  chickory,  or  rye,  or  beans,  or  peas.  In  the  second 
place,  it  is  freshly  roasted,  whenever  made — roasted  with 
great  care  and  evenness  in  a  little  revolving  cylinder  which 
makes  part  of  the  furniture  of  every  kitchen,  and  which 
keeps  in  the  aroma  of  the  berry.  It  is  never  overdone,  so 
as  to  destroy  the  coffee-flavor,  which  is  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  the  fault  of  the  coffee  we  meet  with.  Then  it  is  ground, 
and  placed  in  a  coffee-pot  with  a  filter  through  which,  when 
it  has  yielded  up  its  life  to  the  boiling  water  poured  upon 
it,  the  delicious  extract  percolates  in  clear  drops,  the  coffee- 
pot standing  on  a  heated  stove  to  maintain  the  temperature. 
The  nose  of  the  coffee-pot  is  stopped  up  to  prevent  the  es- 


188 

cape  of  the  aroma  during  this  process.  The  extract  thug 
obtained  is  a  perfectly  clear,  dark  fluid,  known  as  cafenoir, 
or  black  coffee.  It  is  black  only  because  of  its  strength, 
being  in  fact  almost  the  very  essential  oil  of  coffee.  A  ta- 
ble-spoonful of  this  in  boiled  milk  would  make  what  is  or- 
dinarily called  a  strong  cup  of  coffee.  The  boiled  milk  is 
prepared  with  no  less  care.  It  must  be  fresh  and  new,  not 
merely  warmed  or  even  brought  to  the  boiling-point,  but 
slowly  simmered  till  it  attains  a  thick,  creamy  richness.  The 
coffee  mixed  with  this,  and  sweetened  with  that  sparkling 
beet-root  sugar  which  ornaments  a  French  table,  is  the  cele- 
brated cafe-au-lait,  the  name  of  which  has  gone  round  the 
world.  \ 

As  we  look  to  France  for  the  best  coffee,  so  we  must  look 
to  England  for  the  perfection  of  tea.  The  tea-kettle  is  as 
much  an  English  institution  as  aristocracy  or  the  Prayer- 
Book  ;  and  when  one  wants  to  know  exactly  how  tea  should 
be  made,  one  has  only  to  ask  how  a  fine  old  English  house- 
keeper makes  it. 

The  first  article  of  her  faith  is,  that  the  water  must  not 
merely  be  hot,  not  merely  have  ~boikd  a  few  moments  since, 
but  be  actually  boiling  at  the  moment  it  touches  the  tea. 
Hence,  though  servants  in  England  are  vastly  better  trained 
than  with  us,  this  delicate  mystery  is  seldom  left  to  their 
hands.  Tea-making  belongs  to  the  drawing-room,  and  high- 
born ladies  preside  at  "  the  bubbling  and  loud  hissing  urn," 
and  see  that  all  due  rites  and  solemnities  are  properly  per- 
formed— that  the  cups  are  hot,  and  that  the  infused  tea 
waits  the  exact  time  before  the  libations  commence. 

Of  late,  the  introduction  of  English  breakfast-tea  has 
raised  a  new  sect  among  the  tea-drinkers,  reversing  some  of 
the  old  canons.  Breakfast- tea  must  be  boiled !  Unlike 
the  delicate  article  of  olden  time,  which  required  only  a 
momentary  infusion  to  develop  its  richness,  this  requires  a 
longer  and  severer  treatment  to  bring  out  its  strength — 
thus  confusing  all  the  established  usages,  and  throwing  the 


/  GOOD   COOKING.  189 

work  into  the  hands  of  the  cook  in  the  kitchen.  The 
faults  of  tea,  as  too  commonly  found  at  our  hotels  and 
boarding-houses,  are,  that  it  is  made  in  every  way  the 
reverse  of  what  it  should  be.  The  water  is  hot,  perhaps, 
but  not  boiling;  the  tea  has  a  general  flat,  stale,  smoky 
taste,  devoid  of  life  or  spirit ;  and  it  is  served  usually  with 
thin  milk,  instead  of  cream.  Cream  is  as  essential  to  the 
richness  of  tea  as  of  coffee.  Lacking  cream,  boiled  milk  is 
better  than  cold. 

Chocolate  is  a  French  and  Spanish  article,  and  one  sel- 
dom served  on  American  tables.  "We  in  America,  however, 
make  an  article  every  way  equal  to  any  which  can  be  im- 
ported from  Paris,  and  he  who  buys  the  best  vanilla-choco- 
late may  rest  assured  that  no  foreign  land  can  furnish  any 
thing  better.  A  very  rich  and  delicious  beverage  may  be 
made  by  dissolving  this  in  milk,  slowly  boiled  down  after 
the  French  fashion, 

A  word  now  under  the  head  of  Confectionery,  meaning 
by  this  the  whole  range  of  ornamental  cookery — or  pastry, 
ices,  jellies,  preserves,  etc.  The  art  of  making  all  these 
very  perfectly  is  far  better  understood  in  America  than  the 
art  of  common  .cooking.  There  are  more  women  who 
know  how  to  make  good  cake  than  good  bread — more  who 
can  furnish  you  with  a  good  ice-cream  than  a  well-cooked 
mutton-chop ;  a  fair  charlotte-russe  is  easier  to  gain  than 
a  perfect  cup  of  coffee ;  and  you  shall  find  a  sparkling 
jelly  to  your  dessert  where  you  sighed  in  vain  for  so  sim- 
ple a  luxury  as  a  well-cooked  potato. 

Our  fair  countrywomen  might  rest  upon  their  laurels  in 
these  higher  fields,  and  turn  their  great  energy  and  ingenu- 
ity to  the  study  of  essentials.  To  do  common  things  per- 
fectly is  far  better  worth  our  endeavor  than  to  do  uncom- 
mon things  respectably.  We  Americans  in  many  things  as 
yet  have  been  a  little  inclined  to  begin  making  our  shirt  at 
the  ruffle ;  but,  nevertheless,  when  we  set  about  it,  we  can 
make  the  shirt  as  nicely  as  any  body ;  it  needs  only  that  we 


190  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME, 

turn  our  attention  to  it,  resolved  that,  ruffle  or  no  ruffle, 
the  shirt  we  will  have. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  prevalent  ideas  in  respect  to 
French  cookery.  Having  heard  much  of  it,  with  no  very 
distinct  idea  of  what  it  is,  our  people  have  somehow  fallen 
into  the  notion  that  its  forte  lies  in  high  spicing — and  so 
when  our  cooks  put  a  great  abundance  of  clove,  mace,  nut- 
meg, and  cinnamon  into  their  preparations,  they  fancy 
that  they  are  growing  up  to  be  French  cooks.  But  the 
fact  is,  that  the  Americans  and  English  are  far  more  given 
to  spicing  than  the  French.  Spices  in  our  made  dishes 
are  abundant,  and  their  taste  is  strongly  pronounced.  Liv- 
ing a  year  in  France  one  forgets  the  taste  of  nutmeg,  clove, 
and  allspice,  which  abounds  in  so  many  dishes  in  Ameri- 
ca. The  English  and  Americans  deal  in  spices,  the  French 
in  flavors  —  flavors  many  and  fine,  imitating  often  in 
their  delicacy  those  subtle  blendings  which  nature  pro- 
duces in  high-flavored  fruits.  The  recipes  of  our  cookery- 
books  are  most  of  them  of  English  origin,  coming  down 
from  the  times  of  our  phlegmatic  ancestors,  when  the  solid, 
burly,  beefy  growth  of  the  foggy  island  required  the  heat 
of  fiery  condiments,  and  could  digest  heavy  sweets.  Wit- 
ness the  national  recipe  for  plum-pudding :  which  may  be 
rendered :  Take  a  pound  of  every  indigestible  substance 
you  can  think  of,  boil  into  a  cannon-ball,  and  serve  in 
flaming  brandy.  So  of  the  Christmas  mince-pie,  and 
many  other  national  dishes.  But  in  America,  owing  to 
our  brighter  skies  and  more  fervid  climate,  we  have  devel- 
oped an  acute,  nervous  delicacy  of  temperament  far  more 
akin  to  that  of  France  than  of  England. 

Half  of  the  recipes  in  our  cook-books  are  mere  murder 
to  such  constitutions  and  stomachs  as  we  grow  here.  We 
require  to  ponder  these  things,  and  think  how  we,  in  our 
climate  and  under  our  circumstances,  ought  to  live ;  and  in 
doing  so,  we  may,  without  accusation  of  foreign  foppery, 
take  some  leaves  from  many  foreign  books. 


XIV. 

EAELY   EISING. 

THERE  is  no  practice  which  has  been  more  extensively 
eulogized  in  all  ages  than  early  rising ;  and  this  universal 
impression  is  an  indication  that  it  is  founded  on  true  philo- 
sophy. For  it  is  rarely  the  case  that  the  common  sense  of 
mankind  fastens  on  a  practice  as  really  beneficial,  especially 
one  that  demands  self-denial,  without  some  substantial 
reason. 

This  practice,  which  may  justly  be  called  a  domestic  vir- 
tue, is  one  which  has  a  peculiar  claim  to  be  styled  American 
and  democratic.  The  distinctive  mark  of  aristocratic  nations 
is  a  disregard  of  the  great  mass,  and  a  disproportionate  re- 
gard for  the  interests  of  certain  privileged  orders.  All  the 
customs  and  habits  of  such  a  nation  are,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  regulated  by  this  principle.  E"ow  the  mass  of  any 
nation  must  always  consist  of  persons  who  labor  at  occupa- 
tions which  demand  the  light  of  day.  But  in  aristocratic 
countries,  especially  in  England,  labor  is  regarded  as  the 
mark  of  the  lower  classes,  and  indolence  is  considered  as 
one  mark  of  a  gentleman.  This  impression  has  gradually 
and  imperceptibly,  to  a  great  extent,  regulated  their  cus- 
toms, so  that,  even  in  their  hours  of  meals  and  repose,  the 
higher  orders  aim  at  being  different  and  distinct  from  those 
who,  by  laborious  pursuits,  are  placed  below  them.  From 
this  circumstance,  while  the  lower  orders  labor  by  day  and 
sleep  at  night,  the  rich,  the  noble,  and  the  honored  sleep  by 
day,  and  follow  their  pursuits  and  pleasures  by  night. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  aristocracy  of  London  breakfast 


192  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN9 S  HOME. 

near  midday,  dine  after  dark,  visit  and  go  to  Parliament  be 
tween  ten  and  twelve  at  night,  and  retire  to  sleep  toward 
morning.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  subordinate  classes 
who  aim  at  gentility  gradually  fall  into  the  same  practice. 
The  influence  of  this  custom  extends  across  the  ocean,  and 
here,  in  this  democratic  land,  we  find  many  who  measure 
their  grade  of  gentility  by  the  late  hour  at  which  they  arrive 
at  a  party.  And  this  aristocratic  folly  is  growing  upon  us, 
so  that,  throughout  the  nation,  the  hours  for  visiting  and 
retiring  are  constantly  becoming  later,  while  the  hours  for 
rising  correspond  in  lateness. 

The  question,  then,  is  one  which  appeals  to  American 
women,  as  a  matter  of  patriotism  and  as  having  a  bearing  on 
those  great  principles  of  democracy  which  we  conceive  to 
be  equally  the  principles  of  Christianity.  Shall  we  form 
our  customs  on  the  assumption  that  labor  is  degrading  and 
indolence  genteel  ?  Shall  we  assume,  by  our  practice,  that 
the  interests  of  the  great  mass  are  to  be  sacrificed  for  the 
pleasures  and  honors  of  a  privileged  few  ?  Shall  we  ape  the 
customs  of  aristocratic  lands,  in  those  very  practices  which 
result  from  principles  and  institutions  that  we  condemn? 
Shall  we  not  rather  take  the  place  to  which  we  are  entitled, 
as  the  leaders,  rather  than  the  followers,  in  the  customs  of 
society,  turnback  the  tide  of  aristocratic  inroads,  and  carry 
through  the  whole,  not  only  of  civil  and  political  but  of 
social  and  domestic  life,  the  true  principles  of  democratic 
freedom  and  equality  ?  The  following  considerations  may 
serve  to  strengthen  an  affirmative  decision. 

The  first  relates  to  the  health  of  a  family.  It  is  a  uni- 
versal law  of  physiology,  that  all  living  things  flourish  best 
in  the  light.  Vegetables,  in  .a  dark  cellar,  grow  pale  and 
spindling.  Children  brought  up  in  mines  are  always  wan 
and  stunted,  while  men  become  pale  and  cadaverous  who 
live  under  ground.  This  indicates  the  folly  of  losing  the 
genial  influence  which  the  light  of  day  produces  on  all 
animated  creation. 


EARLY  RISING.  193 

Sir  James  Wylie,  of  the  Bussian  imperfal  service,  states 
that  in  the  soldiers'  barracks,  three  times  as  many  were 
taken  sick  on  the  shaded  side  as  on  the  sunny  side ;  though 
both  sides  communicated,  and  discipline,  diet,  and  treatment 
were  the  same.  The  eminent  French  surgeon,  Dupuytren, 
cured  a  lady  whose  complicated  diseases  baffled  for  years 
his  own  and  all  other  medical  skill,  by  taking  her  from  a 
dark  room  to  an  abundance  of  daylight. 

Florence  Nightingale  writes :  "  Second  only  to  fresh  air 
in  importance  for  the  sick  is  light.  Not  only  daylight  but 
direct  sunlight  is  necessary  to  speedy  recovery,  except  in  a 
small  number  of  cases.  Instances,  almost  endless,  could  be 
given  where,  in  dark  wards,  or  wards  with  only  northern 
exposure,  or  wards  with  borrowed  light,  even  when  proper- 
ly ventilated,  the  sick  could  not  be,  by  any  means,  made 
speedily  to  recover." 

In  the  prevalence  of  cholera,  it  was  invariably  the  case 
that  deaths  were  more  numerous  in  shaded  streets  or  in 
houses  having  only  northern  exposures  than  in  those  having 
sunlight.  Several  physicians  have  stated  to  the  writer  that, 
in  sunny  exposures,  women  after  childbirth  gained  strength 
much  faster  than  those  excluded  from  sunlight.  In  the 
writer's  experience,  great  nervous  debility  has  been  always 
immediately  lessened  by  sitting  in  the  sun,  and  still  more  by 
lying  on  the  earth  and  in  open  air,  a  blanket  beneath,  and 
head  and  eyes  protected,  under  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 

Some  facts  in  physiology  and  natural  philosophy  have  a 
bearing  on  this  subject.  It  seems  to  be  settled  that  the  red 
color  of  blood  is  owing  to  iron  contained  in  the  red  blood- 
cells,  while  it  is  established  as  a  fact  that  the  sun's  rays  are 
metallic,  having  "  vapor  of  iron  "  as  one  element.  It  is  also 
true  that  want  of  light  causes  a  diminution  of  the  red  and 
an  increase  of  the  imperfect  white  blood-cells,  and  that  this 
sometimes  results  in  a  disease  called  .leucoemia,  while  all 
who  live  in  the  dark  have  pale  and  waxy  skins,  and  flabby, 
weak  muscles.  Thus  it  would  seem  that  it  is  the  sun  that 


194 

imparts  the  iron"  and  color  to  the  blood.  These  things  be- 
ing so,  the  customs  of  society  that  bring  sleeping  hours  into 
daylight,  and  working  and  study  hours  into  the  night,  are 
direct  violations  of  the  laws  of  health.  The  laws  of  health 
are  the  laws  of  God,  and  "  sin  is  the  transgression  of  law." 

To  this  we  must  add  the  great  neglect  of  economy  as 
well  as  health  in  substituting  unhealthful  gaslight,  poison- 
ous, anthracite  warmth,  for  the  life-giving  light  and  warmth 
of  the  sun.  Millions  and  millions  would  be  saved  to  this 
nation  in  fuel  and  light,  as  well  as  in  health,  by  returning 
to  the  good  old  ways  of  our  forefathers,  to  rise  with  the 
sun,  and  retire  to  rest  "when  the  bell  rings  for  nine 
o'clock." 

The  observations  of  medical  men,  whose  inquiries  have 
been  directed  to  this  point,  have  decided  that  from  six  to 
eight  hours  is  the  amount  of  sleep  demanded  by  persons  in 
health.  Some  constitutions  require  as  much  as  eight,  and 
others  no  more  than  six  hours  of  repose.  But  eight  hours 
is  the  maximum  for  all  persons  in  ordinary  health,  with  or- 
dinary occupations.  In  cases  of  extra  physical  exertions, 
or  the  debility  of  disease,  or  a  decayed  constitution,  more 
than  this  is  required.  Let  eight  hours,  then,  be  regarded 
as  the  ordinary  period  required  for  sleep  by  an  indus- 
trious people  like  the  Americans. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  laws  of  our  political  condition, 
the  laws  of  the  natural  world,  and  the  constitution  of  our 
bodies,  alike  demand  that  we  rise  with  the  light  of  day  to 
prosecute  our  employments,  and  that  we  retire  in  time  for 
the  requisite  amount  of  sleep. 

In  regard  to  the  effects  of  protracting  the  time  spent  in 
repose,  many  extensive  and  satisfactory  investigations  have 
been  made.  It  has  been  shown  that,  during  sleep,  the  body 
perspires  most  freely,  while  yet  neither  food  nor  exercise 
are  ministering  to  ita  wants.  Of  course,  if  we  continue  our 
slumbers  beyond  the  time  required  to  restore  the  body  to 
its  usual  vigor,  there  is  an  unperceived  undermining  of  the 


EARLY  RISING.  195 

constitution,  by  this  protracted  and  debilitating  exhalation. 
This  process,  in  a  course  of  years,  renders  the  body  deli- 
cate and  less  able  to  withstand  disease,  and  in  the  result 
shortens  life.  Sir  John  Sinclair,  who  has  written  a  large 
work  on  the  Causes  of  Longevity,  states,  as  one  result  of 
his  extensive  investigations,  that  he  has  never  yet  heard 
or  read  of  a  single  case  of  great  longevity  where  the  indi- 
vidual was  not  an  early  riser.  He  says  that  he  has  found 
cases  in  which  the  individual  has  violated  some  one  of  all 
the  other  laws  of  health,  and  yet  lived  to  great  age ;  but 
never  a  single  instance  in  which  any  constitution  has  with- 
stood that  undermining  consequent  on  protracting  the 
hours  of  repose  beyond  the  demands  of  the  system. 

Anbther  reason  for  early  rising  is,  that  it  is  indispensa- 
ble to  a  systematic  and  well-regulated  family.  At  what- 
ever hour  the  parents  retire,  children  and  domestics,  weari- 
ed by  play  or  labor,  must  retire  early.  Children  usually 
awake  with  the  dawn  of  light,  and  commence  their  play, 
while  domestics  usually  prefer  the  freshness  of  morning  for 
their  labors.  If,  then,  the  parents  rise  at  a  late  hour,  they 
either  induce  a  habit  of  protracting  sleep  in  their  children 
and  domestics,  or  else  the  family  are  up,  and  at  their  pur- 
suits, while  their  supervisors  are  in  bed. 

Any  woman  who  asserts  that  her  children  and  domestics,  in 
the  first  hours  of  day,  when  their  spirits  are  freshest,  will 
be  as  well  regulated  without  her  presence  as  with  it,  con- 
fesses that  which  surely  is  little  for  her  credit.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  any  candid  woman,  whatever  may  be  her  ex- 
cuse for  late  rising,  will  concede  that  if  she  could  rise  early 
it  would  be  for  the  advantage  of  her  family.  A  late  break- 
fast puts  back  the  work,  through  the  whole  day,  for  every 
member  of  a  family ;  and  if  the  parents  thus  occasion  the 
loss  of  an  hour  or  two  to  each  individual  who,  but  for 
their  delay  in  the  morning,  would  be  usefully  employed, 
they  alone  are  responsible  for  all  this  waste  of  time. 

But  the  practice  of  early  rising  has  a  relation  to  the  gene- 


196  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

ral  interests  of  the  social  community,  as  well  as  to  that  of 
each  distinct  family.  All  that  great  portion  of  the  com- 
munity who  are  employed  in  business  and  labor  find  it 
needful  to  rise  early ;  and  all  their  hours  of  meals,  and 
their  appointments  for  business  or  pleasure,  must  be  accom- 
modated to  these  arrangements.  Now,  if  a  small  portion 
of  the  community  establish  very  different  hours,  it  makes 
a  kind  of  jostling  in  all  the  concerns  and  interests  of  so- 
ciety. The  various  appointments  for  the  public,  such  as 
meetings,  schools,  and  business  hours,  must  be  accommodated 
to  the  mass,  and  not  to  individuals.  The  few,  then,  who 
establish  domestic  habits  at  variance  with  the  majority,  are 
either  constantly  interrupted  in  their  own  arrangements,  or 
else  are  interfering  with  the  rights  and  interests  of  others. 
This  is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  schools.  In  families 
where  late  rising  is  practiced,  either  hurry,  irregularity, 
and  neglect  are  engendered  in  the  family,  or  else  the  inte- 
rests of  the  school,  and  thus  of  the  community,  are  sacri- 
ficed. In  this,  and  many  other  matters,  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  well-being  of  the  bulk  of  the  people  is-,  to  a  great- 
er or  less  extent,  impaired  by  this  self-indulgent  practice. 
Let  any  teacher  select  the  unpunctual  scholars — a  class  who 
most  seriously  interfere  with  the  interests  of  the  school — 
and  let  men  of  business  select  those  who  cause  them  most 
waste  of  time  and  vexation,  by  unpunctuality ;  and  it  will 
be  found  that  they  are  generally  among  the  late  risers, 
and  rarely  among  those  who  rise  early.  Thus,  late  rising 
not  only  injures  the  person  and  family  which  indulge  in 
it,  but  interferes  with  the  rights  and  convenience  of  the 
community ;  while  early  rising  imparts  corresponding  ben- 
efits of  health,  promptitude,  vigor  of  action,  economy  of 
time,  and  general  effectiveness  both  to  the  individuals  who 
practice  it  and  to  the  families  and  community  of  which 
they  are  a  part. 


XY. 

DOMESTIC   MANNERS. 

GOOD  MANNERS  are  the  expressions  of  benevolence  in 
personal  intercourse,  by  which  we  endeavor  to  promote  the 
comfort  and  enjoyment  of  others,  and  to  avoid  all  that  gives 
needless  uneasiness.  It  is  the  exterior  exhibition  of  the  di 
vine  precept,  which  requires  us  to  do  to  others  as  we  would 
that  they  should  do  to  us.  It  is  saying,  by  our  deportment, 
to  all  around,  that  we  consider  their  feelings,  tastes,  and 
conveniences,  as  equal  in  value  to  our  own. 

Good  manners  lead  us  to  avoid  all  practices  which  offend 
the  taste  of  others ;  all  unnecessary  violations  of  the  con- 
ventional rules  of  propriety;  all  rude  and  disrespectfu] 
language  and  deportment ;  and  all  remarks  which  would 
tend  to  wound  the  feelings  of  others. 

There  is  a  serious  defect  in  the  manners  of  the  American 
people,  especially  among  the  descendants  of  the  Puritan 
settlers  of  New-England,  which  can  never  be  efficiently 
remedied,  except  in  the  domestic  circle,  and  during  early 
life.  It  is  a  deficiency  in  the  free  expression  of  kindly 
feelings  and  sympathetic  emotions,  and  a  want  of  courtesy 
in  deportment.  The  causes  which  have  led  to  this  result 
may  easily  be  traced. 

The  forefathers  of  this  nation,  to  a  wide  extent,  were 
men  who  were  driven  from  their  native  land  by  laws  and 
customs  which  they  believed  to  be  opposed  both  to  civil  and 
religious  freedom.  The  sufferings  they  were  called  to  en- 
dure, the  subduing  of  those  gentler  feelings  which  bind  us 
to  country,  kindred,  and  home ;  and  the  constant  subordina- 


198  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

tion  of  the  passions  to  stern  principle,  induced  characters  of 
great  firmness  and  self-control.  They  gave  up  the  comforts 
and  refinements  of  a  civilized  country,  and  came  as  pilgrims 
to  a  h#rd  soil,  a  cold  clime,  and  a  heathen  shore.  They 
were  continually  forced  to  encounter  danger,  privations, 
sickness,  loneliness,  and  death ;  and  all  these  their  religion 
taught  them  to  meet  with  calmness,  fortitude,  and  submis- 
sion. And  thus  it  became  the  custom  and  habit  of  the 
whole  mass,  to  repress  rather  than  to  encourage  the  expres- 
sion of  f  eeling. 

Persons  who  are  called  to  constant  and  protracted  suffer- 
ing and  privation  are  forced  to  subdue  and  conceal  emotion ;. 
for  the  free  expression  of  it  would  double  their  own  suffer- 
ing, and  increase  the  sufferings  of  others.  Those,  only,  who 
are  free  from  care  and  anxiety,  and  whose  minds  are  mainly 
occupied  by  cheerful  emotions,  are  at  full  liberty  to  unvail 
their  feelings. 

It  was  under  such  stern  and  rigorous  discipline  that  the 
first  children  in  New-England  were  reared ;  and  the  man- 
ners and  habits  of  parents  are  usually,  to  a  great  extent, 
transmitted  to  children.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass,  that  the . 
descendants  of  the  Puritans,  now  scattered  over  every  part 
of  the  nation,  are  predisposed  to  conceal  the  gentler  emo- 
tions, while  their  manners  are  calm,  decided,  and  cold, 
rather  than  free  and  impulsive.  Of  course,  there  are  very 
many  exceptions  to  these  predominating  characteristics. 

Other  causes  to  which  we  may  attribute  a  general  want 
of  courtesy  in  manners  are  certain  incidental  results  of  our 
domestic  institutions.  Our  ancestors  and  their  descendants 
have  constantly  been  combating  the  aristocratic  principle 
which  would  exalt  one  class  of  men  at  the  expense  of  an- 
other. They  have  had  to  contend  with  this  principle,  not 
only  in  civil  but  in  social  life.  Almost  every  American,  in 
his  own  person  as  well  as  in  behalf  of  his  class,  has  had  to 
assume  and  defend  the  main  principle  of  democracy — that 
every  man's  feelings  and  interests  are  equal  in  value  to 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  199 

those  of  every  other  man.  But,  in  doing  this,  there  has 
been  some  want  of  clear  discrimination.  Because  claims 
based  on  distinctions  of  mere  birth,  fortune,  or  position, 
were  found  to  be  injurious,  many  have  gone  to  the  extreme 
of  inferring  that  all  distinctions,  involving  subordinations, 
are  useless.  Such  would  wrongfully  regard  children  as 
equals  to  parents,  pupils  to  teachers,  domestics  to  their  em- 
ployers, and  subjects  to  magistrates — and  that,  too,  in  all 
respects. 

The  fact  that  certain  grades  of  superiority  and  subordi- 
nation are  needful,  both  for  individual  and  public  benefit, 
has  not  been  clearly  discerned ;  and  there  has  been  a  gradual 
tendency  to  an  extreme  of  the  opposite  view  which  has 
sensibly  affected  our  manners.  All  the  proprieties  and 
courtesies  which  depend  on  the  recognition  of  the  relative 
duties  of  superior  and  subordinate  have  been  warred  upon ; 
and  thus  we  see,  to  an  increasing  extent,  disrespectful  treat- 
ment of  parents,  by  children ;  of  teachers,  by  pupils ;  of 
employers,  by  domestics ;  and  of  the  aged,  by  the  young. 
In  all  classes  and  circles,  there  is  a  gradual  decay  in  courtesy 
of  address. 

In  cases,  too,  where  kindness  is  rendered,  it  is  often  ac- 
companied with  a  cold,  unsympathizing  manner,  which 
greatly  lessens  its  value ;  while  kindness  or  politeness  is  re- 
ceived in  a  similar  style  of  coolness,  as  if  it  were  but  the 
payment  of  a  just  due. 

It  is  owing  to  these  causes  that  the  American  people, 
especially  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  do  not  do  them- 
selves justice.  For,  while  those  who  are  near  enough  to 
learn  their  real  character  and  feelings  can  discern  the  most 
generous  impulses,  and  the  most  kindly  sympathies,  they 
are  often  so  vailed  behind  a  composed  and  indifferent  de- 
'meanor,  as  to  be  almost  entirely  concealed  from  strangers. 

These  defects  in  our  national  manners  it  especially  falls 
to  the  care  of  mothers,  and  all  who  have  charge  of  the 
young,  to  rectify ;  and  if  they  seriously  undertake  the  mat- 


200  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN^S  HOME. 

ter,  and  wisely  adapt  means  to  ends,  these  defects  will  be 
remedied.  With  reference  to  this  object,  the  following 
ideas  are  suggested. 

The  law  of  Christianity  and  of  democracy,  which  teaches 
that  all  men  are  born  equal  in  rights,  and  that  their  interests 
and  feelings  should  be  regarded  as  of  equal  value,  seems  to 
be  adopted  in  aristocratic  circles,  with  exclusive  reference 
to  the  class  in  which  the  individual  •  moves.  The  courtly 
gentleman  addresses  all  of  his  own  class  with  politeness  and 
respect ;  and  in  all  his  actions,  seems  to  allow  that  the  feel- 
ings and  convenience  of  these  others  are  to  be  regarded  the 
same  as  his  own.  But  his  demeanor  to  those  of  inferior 
station  is  not  based  on  the  same  rule. 

Among  those  who  make  up  aristocratic  circles,  such  as 
are  above  them  are  deemed  of  superior,  and  such  as  are  be- 
low of  inferior,  value.  Thus,  if  a  young,  ignorant,  and 
vicious  coxcomb  happens  to  have  been  born  a  lord,  the  aged, 
the  virtuous,  the  learned,  and  the  well-bred  of  another  class 
must  give  his  convenience  the  precedence,  and  must  address 
him  in  terms  of  respect.  So  sometimes,  when  a  man  of 
"noble  birth"  is  thrown  among  the  lower  classes,  he  de- 
means himself  in  a  style  which,  to  persons  of  his  own  class, 
would  be  deemed  the  height  of  assumption  and  rudeness. 

Now,  the  principles  of  democracy  require  that  the  same 
courtesy  which  we  accord  to  our  own  circle  shall  be  extend- 
ed to  every  class  and  condition ;  and  that  distinctions  of  su- 
periority and  subordination  shall  depend,  not  on  accidents 
of  birth,  fortune,  or  occupation,  but  solely  on  those  mutual 
relations  which  the  good  of  all  classes  equally  require. 
The  distinctions  demanded  in  a  democratic  state  are  sim- 
ply those  which  result  from  relations  thaj  are  common  to 
every  class,  and  are  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

It  is  for  the  benefit  of  every  class  that  children  be  subor- 
dinate to  parents,  pupils  to  teachers,  the  employed  to  their 
employers,  and  subjects  to  magistrates.  In  addition  to  this, 
it  is  for  the  general  well-being  that  the  comfort  or  conven- 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  201 

ience  of  the  delicate  and  feeble  should  be  preferred  to  that 
of  the  strong  and  healthy,  who  would  suffer  less  by  any  de- 
privation ;  that  precedence  should  be  given  to  their  elders 
by  the  young ;  and  that  reverence  should  be  given  to  the 
hoary  head. 

The  rules  of  good-breeding,  in  a  democratic  state,  must 
be  founded  on  these  principles.  It  is  indeed  assumed  that 
the  value  of  the  happiness  of  each  individual  is  the  same 
as  that  of  every  other;  but  as  there  must  be  occasions 
where  there  are  advantages  which  all  can  not  enjoy,  there 
must  be  general  rules  for  regulating  a  selection.  Otherwise, 
there  would  be  constant  scrambling  among  those  of  equal 
claims,  and  brute  force  must  be  the  final  resort ;  in  which 
case,  the  strongest  would  have  the  best  ol  every  thing.  The 
democratic  rule,  then,  is,  that  superiors  in  age,  station,  or 
office  have  precedence  of  subordinates ;  age  and  feebleness, 
of  youth  and  strength ;  and  the  feebler  sex,  of  more  vigor- 
ous man.* 

There  is,  also,  a  style  of  deportment  and  address  which 
is  appropriate  to  these  different  relations.  It  is  suitable  for 
a  superior  to  secure  compliance  with  his  wishes  from  those 
subordinate  to  him  by  commands ;  but  a  subordinate  must 
secure  compliance  with  his  wishes  from  a  superior  by  re- 
quests. (Although  the  kind  and  considerate  manner  to  sub- 
ordinates will  always  be  found  the  most  effective  as  well  as 
the  pleasantest,  by  those  in  superior  station.)  It  is  suitable 
for  a  parent,  teacher,  or  employer  to  admonish  for  neglect 
of  duty ;  but  not  for  an  inferior  to  adopt  such  a  course  to- 
ward a  superior.  It  is  suitable  for  a  superior  to  take  pre- 
cedence of  a  subordinate,  without  any  remark ;  but  not 
for  an  inferior,  without  previously  asking  leave,  or  offering 

*  The  universal  practice  of  this  nation,  in  thus  giving  precedence  to 
woman  has  been  severely  commented  on  by  foreigners,  and  by  some  who 
would  transfer  all  the  business  of  the  other  sex  to  women,  and  then  have 
them  treated  like  men.  But  we  hope  this  evidence  of  our  superior  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity  may  increase  rather  than  diminish 


202  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'' S  HOME. 

an  apology.  It  is  proper  for  a  superior  to  use  language 
and  manners  of  freedom  and  familiarity,  which  would  be 
improper  from  a  subordinate  to  a  superior. 

The  want  of  due  regard  to  these  proprieties  occasions  a 
great  defect  in  American  manners.  It  is  very  common  to 
hear  children  talk  to  their  parents  in  a  style  proper  only 
between  companions  and  equals;  so,  also,  the  young  ad- 
dress their  elders;  those  employed,  their  employers;  and 
domestics,  the  members  of  the  family  and  their  visitors, 
in  a  style  which  is  inappropriate  to  their  relative  positions. 
But  courteous  address  is  required  not  merely  toward  supe- 
riors ;  every  person  desires  to  be  thus  treated,  and  therefore 
the  law  of  benevolence  demands  such  demeanor  toward  all 
whom  we  meet  in  the  social  intercourse  of  life.  "  Be  ye 
courteous,"  is  the  direction  of  the  apostle  in  reference  to 
our  treatment  of  all. 

Good  manners  can  be  successfully  cultivated  only  in 
early  life  and  in  the  domestic  circle.  There  is  nothing 
which  depends  so  much  upon  habit  as  the  constantly  recur- 
ring proprieties  of  good  breeding ;  and  if  a  child  grows  up 
without  forming  such  habits,  it  is  very  rarely  the  case  that 
they  can  be  formed  at  a  later  period.  The  feeling  that  it  is 
of  little  consequence  how  we  behave  at  home  if  we  con- 
duct ourselves  properly  abroad,  is  a  very  fallacious  one. 
Persons  who  are  careless  and  ill-bred  at  home  may  ima- 
gine that  they  can  assume  good  manners  abroad ;  but  they 
mistake.  Fixed  habits  of  tone,  manner,  language,  and 
movements  can  not  be  suddenly  altered ;  and  those  who 
are  ill-bred  at  home,  even  when  they  try  to  hide  their  bad 
habits,  are  sure  to  violate  many  of  the  obvious  rules  of  pro. 
priety,  and  yet  be  unconscious  of  it. 

And  there  is  nothing  which  would  so  effectually  remove 
prejudice  against  our  democratic  institutions  as  the  gene- 
ral cultivation  of  good-breeding  in  the  domestic  circle. 
Good  manners  are  the  exterior  of  benevolence,  the  minute 
and  constant  exhibitions  of  "  peace  and  good-will ;"  and  the 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  203 

nation,  as  well  as  the  individual,  which  most  excels  in  the 
external  demonstration,  as  well  as  the  internal  principle, 
will  be  most  respected  and  beloved. . 

It  is  only  the  training  of  the  family  state  according  to 
its  true  end  and  aim  that  is  to  secure  to  woman  her  true 
position  and  rights.  When  the  family  is  instituted  by  mar- 
riage, it  is  man  who  is  the  head  and  chief  magistrate  by 
the  force  of  his  physical  power  and  requirement  of  the 
chief  responsibility ;  not  less  is  he  so  according  to  the  Chris- 
tian law,  by  which,  when  differences  arise,  the  husband 
has  the  deciding  control,  and  the  wife  is  to  obey.  "  "Where 
love  is,  there  is  no  law ;"  but  where  lovt  is  not,  the  only 
dignified  and  peaceful  course  is  for  the  wife,  however  much 
his  superior,  to  "  submit,  as  to  God  and  not  to  man." 

But  this  power  of  nature  and  of  religion,  given  to  man 
as  the  controlling  head,  involves  fhe  distinctive  duty  of  the 
family  state,  self-sacrificing  love.  The  husband  is  to  "  hon- 
or "  the  wife,  to  love  her  as  himself,  and  thus  account  her 
wishes  and  happiness  as  of  equal  value  with  his  own.  But 
more  than  this,  he  is  to  love  her  "  as  Christ  loved  the 
Church ;"  that  is,  he  is  to  "  suffer"  for  her,  if  need  be,  in 
order  to  support  and  elevate  and  ennoble  her. 

The  father  then  is  to  set  the  example  of  self-sacrifi- 
cing love  and  devotion ;  and  the  mother,  of  Christian  obe- 
dience when  it  is  required.  Every  boy  is  to  be  trained  for 
his  future  domestic  position  by  labor  and  sacrifices  for  his 
mother  and  sisters.  It  is  the  brother  who  is  to  do  the  hard- 
est and  most  disagreeable  work,  to  face  the  storms  and  per- 
form the  most  laborious  drudgeries.  In  the  family  circle, 
too,  he  is  to  give  his  mother  and  sister  precedence  in .  all 
the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  home  life. 

It  is  only  those  nations  where  the  teachings  and  example 
of  Christ  have  had  most  influence  that  man  has  ever  as- 
sumed his  obligations  of  self-sacrificing  benevolence  in  the 
family.  And  even  in  Christian  communities,  the  duty  of 
wives  to  obey  their  husbands  has  been  more  strenuously 


204  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

urged  than  the  obligations  of  the  husband  to  love  his  wife 
"  as  Christ  loved  the  Church." 

•  Here  it  is  needful  to  notice  that  the  distinctive  duty  of 
obedience  to  man  does  not  rest  on  women  who  do  not  enter 
the  relations  of  married  life.  A  woman  who  inherits  pro- 
perty, or  who  earns  her  own  livelihood,  can  institute  the 
family  state,  adopt  orphan  children  and  employ  suitable 
helpers  in  training  them ;  and  then  to  her  will  appertain  the 
authority  and  rights  that  belong  to  man  as  the  head  of  a 
family.  And  when  every  woman  is  trained  to  some  self-sup- 
porting business,  she  will  not  be  tempted  to  enter  the  fami- 
ly state  as  a  subordinate,  except  by  that  love  for  which  there 
is  no  need  of  law. 

These  general  principles  being  stated,  some  details  in  re- 
gard to  domestic  manners  will  be  enumerated. 

In  the  first  place,  therer  should  be  required  in  the  family 
a  strict  attention  to  the  rules  of  precedence,  and  those 
modes  of  address  appropriate  to  the  various  relations  to  be 
sustained.  Children  should  always  be  required  to  offer 
their  superiors,  in  age  or  station,  the  precedence  in  all  com- 
forts and  conveniences,  and  always  address  them  in  a  re- 
spectful tone  and  manner.  The  custom  of  adding,  "  Sir,"  or 
"Ma'am,"  to  "Yes,"  or  "No,"  is  valuable,  as  a  perpetual 
indication  of  a  respectful  recognition  of  superiority.  It  is 
now  going  out  of  fashion,  even  among  the  most  well  bred 
people ;  probably  from  a  want  of  consideration  of  its  im- 
portance. Every  remnant  of  courtesy  of  address,  in  our 
customs,  should  be  carefully  cherished,  by  all  who  feel  a 
value  for  the  proprieties  of  good  breeding. 

If  parents  allow  their  children  to  talk  to  them,  and  to 
the  grown  persons  in  the  family,  in  the  same  style  in  which 
they  address  each  other,  it  will  be  in  vain  to  hope  for  the 
courtesy  of  manner  and  tone  which  good  breeding  demands 
in  the  general  intercourse  of  society.  In  a  large  family, 
where  the  elder  children  are  grown  up,  and  the  younger 
are  small,  it  is  important  to  require  the  latter  to  treat  the 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  205 

elder  in  some  sense  as  superiors.  There  are  none  so  ready 
as  young  children  to  assume  airs  of  equality ;  and  if  they 
are  allowed  to  treat  one  class  of  superiors  in  age  and  cha- 
racter disrespectfully,  they  will  soon  use  the  privilege  uni- 
versally. This  is  the  reason  why  the  youngest  children  of 
a  family  are  most  apt  to  be  pert,  forward,  and  unmannerly. 

Another  point  to  be  aimed  at  is,  to  require  children  al- 
ways to  acknowledge  every  act  of  kindness  and  attention, 
either  by  words  or  manner.  If  they  are  so  trained  as  al- 
ways to  make  grateful  acknowledgments,  when  receiving 
favors,  one  of  the  objectionable  features  in  American  man- 
ners will  be  avoided. 

Again,  children  should  be  required  to  ask  leave,  when- 
ever they  wish  to  gratify  curiosity,  or  use  an  article  which 
belongs  to  another.  And  if  cases  occur,  when  they  can  not 
comply  with  the  rules  of  good-breeding,  as,  for  instance, 
when  they  must  step  between  a  person  and  the  fire,  or  take 
the  chair  of  an  older  person,  they  should  be  taught  either 
to  ask  leave,  or  to  offer  an  apology. 

There  is  another  point  of  good-breeding,  which  can  not, 
in  all  cases,  be  understood  and  applied  by  children  in  its 
widest  extent.  It  is  that  which  requires  us  to  avoid  all  re- 
marks which  tend  to  embarrass,  vex,  mortify,  or  in  any 
way  wound  the  feelings  of  another.  To  notice  personal 
defects ;  to  allude  to  others'  faults,  or  the  faults  of  their 
friends;  to  speak  disparagingly  of  the  sect  or  party  to 
which  a  person  belongs ;  to  be  inattentive  when  addressed 
in  conversation  ;  to  contradict  flatly ;  to  speak  in  contemp- 
tuous tones  of  opinions  expressed  by  another;  all  these 
are  violations  of  the  rules  of  good-breeding,  which  children 
should  be  taught  to  regard.  Under  this  head  comes  the 
practice  of  whispering  and  staring  about,  when  a  teacher, 
or  lecturer,  or  clergyman  is  addressing  a  class  or  audience. 
Such  inattention  is  practically  saying  that  what  the  person 
is  uttering  is  not  worth  attending  to ;  and  persons  of  real 
good-breeding  always  avoid  it.  Loud  talking  and  laughing 


206  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

in  a  large  assembly,  even  when  no  exercises  are  going  on ; 
yawning  and  gaping  in  company ;  and  not  looking  in  the 
face  a  person  who  is  addressing  you,  are  deemed  marks  of 
ill-breeding. 

Another  branch  of  good  manners  relates  to  the  duties 
of  hospitality.  Politeness  requires  us  to  welcome  visitors 
with  cordiality ;  to  offer  them  the  best  accommodations ;  to 
address  conversation  to  them ;  and  to  express,  by  tone  and 
manner,  kindness  and  respect.  Offering  the  hand  to  all 
visitors  at  one's  own  house  is  a  courteous  and  hospitable 
custom ;  and  a  cordial  shake  of  the  hand,  when  friends 
meet,  would  abate  much  of  the  coldness  of  manner  ascrib- 
ed to  Americans. 

Another  point  of  good  breeding  refers  to  the  conven- 
tional rules  of  propriety  and  good  taste.  Of  these,  the 
first  class  relates  to  the  avoidance  of  all  disgusting  or 
offensive  personal  habits:  such  as  fingering  the  hair;  ob- 
trusively using  a  toothpick,  or  carrying  one  in  the  mouth 
after  the  needful  use  of  it ;  cleaning  the  nails  in  presence  of 
others ;  picking  the  nose ;  spitting  on  carpets ;  snuffing  in- 
stead of  using  a  handkerchief,  or  using  the  article  in  an  of- 
fensive manner ;  lifting  up  the  boots  or  shoes,  as  some  men 
do,  to  tend  them  on  the  knee,  or  to  finger  them :  all  these 
tricks,  either  at  home  or  in  society,  children  should  be  taught 
to  avoid. 

Another  topic,  under  this  head,  may  be  called  table 
manners.  To  persons  of  good-breeding,  nothing  is  more 
annoying  than  violations  of  the  conventional  proprieties  of 
the  table.  Reaching  over  another  person's  plate;  standing  up, 
to  reach  distant  articles,  instead  of  asking  to  have  them 
passed ;  using  one's  own  knife  and  spoon  for  butter,  salt, 
or  sugar,  when  it  is  the  custom  of  the  family  to  provide 
separate  utensils  for  the  purpose ;  setting  cups  with  the  tea 
dripping  from  them,  on  the  table-cloth,  instead  of  the  mats 
or  small  plates  furnished ;  using  the  table-cloth  instead  of 
the  napkins ;  eating  fast,  and  in  a  noisy  manner ;  putting 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  207 

large  pieces  in  the  mouth ;  looking  and  eating  as  if  very 
hungry,  or  as  if  anxious  to  get  at  certain  dishes ;  sitting  at 
too  great  a  distance  from  the  table,  and  dropping  food; 
laying  the  knife  and  fork  on  the  table-cloth,  instead  of  on 
v  the  edge  of  the  plate ;  picking  the  teeth  at  table :  all  these 
particulars  children  should  be  taught  to  avoid. 

It  is  always  desirable,  too,  to  train  children,  when  at  ta- 
ble with  grown  persons,  to  be  silent,  except  when  addressed 
by  others ;  or  else  their  chattering  will  interrupt  the  con- 
versation and  comfort  of  their  elders.  They  should  always 
be  required,  too,  to  wait  in  silence,  till  all  the  older  persons 
are  helped. 

When  children  are  alone  with  their  parents,  it  is  desirable 
to  lead  them  to  converse  and  to  take  this  as  an  opportunity 
to  form  proper  conversational  habits.  But  it  should  be  a 
fixed  rule  that,  when  strangers  are  present,  the  children  are 
to  listen  in  silence  and  only  reply  when  addressed.  Unless 
this  is  secured,  visitors  will  often  be  condemned  to  listen  to 
puerile  chattering,  with  small  chance  of  the  proper  atten- 
tion due  to  guests  and  superiors  in  age  and  station. 

Children  should  be  trained,  in  preparing  themselves  for 
the  table  or  for  appearance  among  the  family,  not  only  to 
put  their  hair,  face,  and  hands  in  neat  order,  but  also  their 
nails,  and  to  habitually  attend  to  this  latter  whenever  they 
wash  their  hands. 

There  are  some  very  disagreeable  tricks  which  many 
children  practice  even  in  families  counted  well-bred.  Such, 
for  example,  are  drumming  with  the  fingers  on  some  piece 
of  furniture,  or  humming  a  tune  while  others  are  talking, 
or  interrupting  conversation  by  pertinacious  questions,  or 
whistling  in  the  house  instead  of  out-doors,  or  speaking 
several  at  once  and  in  loud  voices  to  gain  attention.  All 
these  are  violations  of  good-breeding,  which  children  shoulfl. 
be  trained  to  avoid,  lest  they  should  not  only  annoy  as  chil- 
dren, but  practice  the  same  kind  of  ill  manners  when  ma 
ture.  In  all  assemblies  for  public  debate,  a  chairman  or 


208  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAtflS  HOME. 

moderator  is  appointed  whose  business  it  is  to  see  that  only 
one  person  speaks  at  a  time,  that  no  one  interrupts  a  person 
when  speaking,  that  no  needless  noises  are  made,  and  that 
all  indecorums  are  avoided.  Such  an  officer  is  sometimes 
greatly  needed  in  family  circles. 

Children  should  be  encouraged  freely  to  use  lungs  and 
limbs  out-doors,  or  in  hours  for  sport  in  the  house.  But  at 
other  times,  in  the  domestic  circle,  gentle  tones  and  man- 
ners should  be  cultivated.  The  words  gentleman  and  gentle- 
woman came  originally  from  the  fact  that  the  uncultivated 
and  ignorant  classes  used  coarse  and  loud  tones,  and  rough 
words  and  movements ;  while  only  the  refined  circles  habit- 
ually used  gentle  tones  and  gentle  manners.  For  the  same 
reason,  those  born  in  the  higher  circles  were  called  "  of  gen- 
tle blood."  Thus  it  came  thaf  a  coarse  and  loud  voice,  and 
rough,  ungentle  manners,  are  regarded  as  vulgar  and  ple- 
beian. 

All  these  things  should  be  taught  to  children,  gradually, 
and  with  great  patience  and  gentleness.  Some  parents, 
with  whom  good  manners  are  a  great  object,  are  in  danger  of 
making  their  children  perpetually  uncomfortable,  by  sud- 
denly surrounding  them  with  so  many  rules  that  they  must 
inevitably  violate  some  one  or  other  a  great  part  of  the 
time.  It  is  much  better  to  begin  with  a  few  rules,  and  be 
steady  and  persevering  with  these,  till  a  habit  is  formed, 
and  then  take  a  few  more,  thus  making  the  process  easy 
and  gradual.  Otherwise,  the  tfimper  of  children  will  be  in- 
jured-; or,  hopeless  of  fulfilling  so  many  requisitions,  they 
will  become  reckless  and  indifferent  to  all. 

If  a  few  brief,  well-considered,  and  sensible  rules  of  good 
manners  could  be  suspended  in  every  school-room,  and  the 
children  all  required  to  commit  them  to  memory,  it  proba- 
bly would  do  more  to  remedy  the  defects  of  American 
manners  and  to  advance  universal  good-breeding  than  any 
other  mode  that  could  be  so  easily  adopted. 

But,  in  reference  to  those  who  have  enjoyed  advantages 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  209 

for  the  cultivation  of  good  manners,  and  who  duly  estimate 
its  importance,  one  caution  is  necessary.  Those  who  never 
have  had  such  habits  formed  in  youth  are  under  disadvan- 
tages which  no  benevolence  of  temper  can  altogether  remedy. 
They  may  often  violate  the  tastes  and  feelings  of  others,  not 
from  a  want  of  proper  regard  for  them,  but  from  ignorance 
of  custom,  or  want  of  habit,  or  abstraction  of  mind,  or 
from  other  causes  which  demand  forbearance  and  sympathy, 
rather  than  displeasure.  An  ability  to  bear  patiently  with 
defects  in  manners,  and  to  make  candid  and  considerate 
allowance  for  a  want  of  advantages,  or  for  peculiarities  in 
mental  habits,  is  one  mark  of  the  benevolence  of  real  good- 
breeding. 

The  advocates  of  monarchical  and  aristocratic  institutions 
have  always  had  great  plausibility  given  to  their  views,  by 
the  seeming  tendencies  of  our  institutions  to  insubordination 
and  bad  manners.  And  it  has  been  too  indiscriminately 
conceded,  by  the  defenders  of  the  latter,  that  such  are  these 
tendencies,  and  that  the  offensive  points  in  American  man- 
ners are  the  necessary  result  of  democratic  principles. 

But  it  is  believed  that  both  facts  and  reasoning  are  in  op- 
position to  this  opinion.  '  The  following  extract  from  the 
work  of  De  Tocqueville,  the  great  political  philosopher  of 
France,  exhibits  the  opinion  of  an  impartial  observer,  w^hen 
comparing  American  manners  with  those  of  the  English, 
who  are  confessedly  the  most  aristocratic  of  all  people. 

He  previously  remarks  on  the  tendency  of  aristocracy  to 
make  men  more  sympathizing  with  persons  of  their  own 
peculiar  class,  and  less  so  toward  those  of  lower  degree ; 
and  he  then  contrasts  American  manners  with  the  English, 
claiming  that  thp,  Americans  are  much  the  more  affable, 
mild,  and  social.  "In  America,  where  the  privileges  of 
birth  never  existed  and  where  riches  confer  no  peculiar 
rights  on  their  possessors,  men  acquainted  with  each  other  are 
very  ready  to  frequent  the  same  places,  and  find  neither  peril 
nor  disadvantage  in  the  free  interchange  of  their  thoughts. 


210  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

[f  they  meet  by  accident,  they  neither  seek  nor  avoid  inter- 
course ;  their  manner  is  "therefore  natural,  frank,  and  open." 
"If  their  demeanor  is  often  cold  and  serious,  it  is  never 
haughty  or  constrained."  But  an  "  aristocratic  pride  is 
still  extremely  great  among  the  English  ;  and  as  the  limits 
of  aristocracy  are  still  ill-defined,  every  body  lives  in  con- 
stant dread,  lest  advantage  should  be  taken  of  his  famili- 
arity. Unable  to  judge,  at  once,  of  the  social  position  of 
those  he  meets,  an  Englishman  prudently  avoids  all  contact 
with  him.  Men  are  afraid,  lest  some  slight  service  render- 
ed should  draw  them  into  an  unsuitable  acquaintance; 
they  dread  civilities,  and  they  avoid  the  obtrusive  gratitude 
of  a  stranger,  as  much  as  his  hatred." 

Thus, /*«<?&  seem  to  show  that  when  the  most  aristocratic 
nation  in  the  world  is  compared,  as  to  manners,  with  the 
most  democratic,  the  judgment  of  strangers  is  in  favor  of 
the  latter.  And  if  good  manners  are  the  outward  exhibi- 
tion of  the  democratic  principle  of  impartial  benevolence 
and  equal  rights,  surely  the  nation  which  adopts  this  rule, 
both  in  social  and  civil  life,  is  the  most  likely  to  secure 
the  desirable  exterior.  The  aristocrat,  by  his  principles,  ex- 
tends the  exterior  of  impartial  benevolence  to  his  own  class 
only ;  the  democratic  principle  requires  it  to  be  extended 
to  all. 

There  is  reason,  therefore,  to  hope  and  expect  more  re- 
fined and  polished  manners  in  America  than  in  any  other 
land ;  while  all  the  developments  of  taste  and  refinement, 
such  as  poetry,  music,  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture, 
it  may  be  expected,  will  come  to  as  high  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion here  as  in  any  other  nation. 

If  this  country  increases  in  virtue  and  intelligence,  as  it 
may,  there  is  no  end  to  the  wealth  which  will  pour  in  as  the 
result  of  our  resources  of  climate,  soil,  and  navigation,  and 
the  skill,  industry,  energy,  and  enterprise  of  our  country- 
men. This  wealth,  if  used  as  intelligence  and  virtue  die 
tate,  will  furnish  the  means  for  a  superior  education  to  all 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS.  211 

classes,  and  every  facility  for  the  refinement  of  taste,  intel- 
lect, and  feeling. 

Moreover,  in  this  country,  labor  is  ceasing  to  be  the 
badge  of  a  lower  class ;  so  that  already  it  is  disreputable 
for  a  man  to  be  "  a  lazy  gentleman."  And  this  feeling 
must  increase,  till  there  is  such  an  equalization  of  labor"  as 
will  afford  all  the  time  needful  for  every  class  to  improve 
the  many  advantages  offered  to  them.  Already  through 
the  munificence  of  some  of  our  citizens,  there  are  literary 
and  scientific  advantages  offered  to  all  classes,  rarely  en- 
joyed elsewhere.  In  most  of  our  large  cities  and  towns,  the 
advantages  of  education,  now  offered  to  the  poorest  classes, 
often  without  charge,  surpass  what,  some  years  ago,  most 
wealthy  men  could  purchase  for  any  price.  And  it  is  be- 
lieved that  a  time  will  come  when  the  poorest  boy  in 
America  can  secure  advantages,  which  will  equal  what  the 
heir  of  the  proudest  peerage  can  now  command. 

The  records  of  the  courts  of  France  and  Germany,  (as 
detailed  by  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,)  in  and  succeeding  the 
brilliant  reign  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth — a  period  which 
was  deemed  the  acme  of  elegance  and  refinement — exhibit 
a  grossness,  a  vulgarity,  and  a  coarseness,  not  to  be  found 
among  £he  very  lowest  of  our  respectable  poor.  And  the 
biography  of  the  English  Beau  Nash,  who  attempted  to  re- 
form the  manners  of  the  gentry,  in  the  times  of  Queen 
Anne,  exhibits  violations  of  the  rules  of  decency  among 
the  aristocracy,  which  the  commonest  yeoman  of  this  land 
would  feel  disgraced  in  perpetrating. 

This  shows  that  our  lowest  classes,  at  this  period,  are 
more  refined  than  were  the  highest  in  aristocratic  lands,  a 
hundred  years  ago;  and  another  century  may  show  the 
lowest  classes,  in  wealth,  in  this  country,  attaining  as  high 
a  polish  as  adorns  those  who  now  are  leaders  of  good  man- 
ners in  the  courts  of  kings. 


XVI. 

THE    PRESERVATION    OF    GOOD    TEMPER    IN    THE    HOUSEKEEPER, 

THERE  is  nothing  which  has  a  more  abiding  influence  on 
the  happiness  of  a  family  than  the  preservation  of  equable 
and  cheerful  temper  and  tones  in  the  housekeeper.  A  wo- 
man who  is  habitually  gentle,  sympathizing,  forbearing,  and 
cheerful,  carries  an  atmosphere  about  her  which  imparts  a 
soothing  and  sustaining  influence,  and  renders  it  easier  for 
all  to  do  right,  under  her  administration,  than  in  any  other 
situation. 

The  writer  has  known  families  where  the  mother's  pre- 
sence seemed  the  sunshine  of  the  circle  around  her ;  impart- 
ing a  cheering  and  vivifying  power,  scarcely  realized  till  it 
was  withdrawn.  Every  one,  without  thinking  of  it,  or 
knowing  why  it  was  so,  experienced  a  peaceful  and  invigo- 
rating influence  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  sphere  illumined 
by  her  smile,  and  sustained  by  her  cheering  kindness  and 
sympathy.  On  the  contrary,  many  a  good  housekeeper, 
(good  in  every  respect  but  this,)  by  wearing  a  countenance 
of  anxiety  and  dissatisfaction,  and  by  indulging  in  the  fre- 
quent use  of  sharp  and  reprehensive  tones,  more  than  de- 
stroys all  the  comfort  which  otherwise  would  result  from 
her  system,  neatness,  and  economy. 

There  is  a  secret,  social  sympathy  which  every  mind,  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  experiences  with  the  feelings  of 
those  around,  as  they  are  manifested  by  the  countenance 
and  voice.  A  sorrowful,  a  discontented,  or  an  angry  coun- 
tenance produces  a  silent,  sympathetic  influence,  imparting 
a  sombre  shade  to  the  mind,  while  tones  of  anger  or  com- 
plaint still  more  effectually  jar  the  spirits. 


GOOD   TEMPER  IN  THE  HOUSEKEEPER.  213 

No  person  can  maintain  a  quiet  and  cheerful  frame  of 
mind  while  tones  of  discontent  and  displeasure  are  sounding 
on  the  ear.  We  may  gradually  accustom  ourselves  to  the 
evil  till  it  is  partially  diminished ;  but  it  always  is  an  evil 
which  greatly  interferes  with  the  enjoyment  of  the  family 
state.  There  are  sometimes  cases  where  the  entrance  of 
the  mistress  of  a  family  seems  to  awaken  a  slight  appre- 
hension in  every  mind  around,  as  if  each  felt  in  danger  of 
a  reproof,  for  something  either  perpetrated  or  neglected.  A 
woman  who  should  go  around  her  house  with  a  small  sting- 
ing snapper,  which  she  habitually  applied  to  those  whom 
she  met,  would  be  encountered  with  feelings  very  much 
like  those  which  are  experienced  by  the  inmates  of  a 
family  where  the  mistress  often  uses  her  countenance  and 
voice  to  inflict  similar  penalties  for  duties  neglected. 

Yet  there  are  many  allowances  to  be  made  for  house- 
keepers, who  sometimes  imperceptibly  and  unconsciously 
fall  into  such  habits.  A  woman  who  attempts  to  carry  out 
any  plans  of  system,  order,  and  economy,  and  who  has  her 
feelings  and  habits  conf ormed  to  certain  rules,  is  constantly 
liable  to  have  her  plans  crossed,  and  her  taste  violated,  by 
the  inexperience  or  inattention  of  those  about  her.  And  no 
housekeeper,  whatever  may  be  her  habits,  can  escape  the 
frequent  recurrence  of  negligence  or  mistake,  which  inter- 
feres with  her  plans. 

It  is  probable  that  there  is  no  class  of  persons  in  the 
world  who  have  such  incessant  trials  of  temper,  and  temp- 
tations to  be  fretful,  as  American  housekeepers.  For 
a  housekeeper's  business  is  not,  like  that  of  the  other 
Bex,  limited  to  a  particular  department,  for  which  pre- 
vious preparation  is  made.  It  consists  of  ten  thousand 
little  disconnected  items,  which  can  never  be  so  systemati- 
cally arranged  that  there  is  no  daily  jostling  somewhere. 
And  in  the  best-regulated  families,  it  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case  that  some  act  of  forgetfulness  or  carelessness,  from 
some  member,  will  disarrange  the  business  of  the  whole 


214  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

day,  so  that  every  hour  will  bring  renewed  occasion  for  an- 
noyance. And  the  more  strongly  a  ^oman  realizes  the 
value  of  time,  and  the  importance  of  system  and  order,  the 
more  will  she  be  tempted  to  irritability  and  complaint. 

The  following  considerations  may  aid  in  preparing  a. wo- 
man to  meet  such  daily  crosses  with  even  a  cheerful  tem- 
per and  tones. 

In  the  first  place,  a  woman  who  has  charge  of  a  large 
household  should  regard  her  duties  as  dignified,  important, 
and  difficult.  The  mind  is  so  made  as  to  be  elevated  and 
cheered  by  a  sense  of  far-reaching  influence  and  usefulness. 
A  woman  who  feols  that  she  is  a  cipher,  and  that  it  makes 
little  difference. how  she  performs  her  duties,  has  far  less  to 
sustain  and  invigorate  her,  than  one  who  truly  estimates 
the  importance  of  her  station.  A  man  who  feels  that  the 
destinies  of  a  nation  are  turning  on  the  judgment  and  skill 
with  which  he  plans  and  executes,  has  a  pressure  of  motive 
and  an  elevation  of  feeling  which  are  great  safeguards 
against  all  that  is  low,  trivial,  and  degrading. 

So,  an  American  mother  and  housekeeper  who  rightly 
estimates  the  long  train  of  influence  which  will  pass  down 
to  thousands,  whose  destinies,  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration, will  be  modified  by  those  decisions  of  her  will 
which  regulate  the  temper,  principles,  and  habits  of  her 
family,  must  be  elevated  above  petty  temptations  which 
would  otherwise  assail  her. 

Again,  a  housekeeper  should  feel  that  she  really  has  great 
difficulties  to  meet  and  overcome.  A  person  who  wrongly 
thinks  there  is  little  danger,  can  never  maintain  so  faithful 
a  guard  as  one  who  rightly  estimates  the  temptations  which 
beset  her.  Nor  can  one  who  thinks  that  they  are  trifling 
difficulties  which  she  has  to  encounter,  and  trivial  tempta- 
tions to  which  she  must  yield,  so  much  enjoy  the  just  re- 
ward of  conscious  virtue  and  self-control  as  one  who  takes 
an  opposite  view  of  the  subject. 

A  third  method  is,  for  a  woman  deliberately  to  calculate 


GOOD   TEMPER  IN  THE  HOUSEKEEPER.  215 

on  having  her  best-arranged  plans  interfered  with  very 
often;  and  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  preparation  that  the 
evil  will  not  come  unawares.  So  complicated  are  the  pur- 
suits and  so  diverse  the  habits  of  the  various  members  of  a 
family,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  every  one  to  avoid 
interfering  with  the  plans  and  taste  of  a  housekeeper,  in 
some  one  point  or  another.  It  is,  therefore,  most  wise  for 
a  woman  to  keep  the  loins  of  her  mind  ever  girt,  to  meet 
such  collisions  with  a  cheerful  and  quiet  spirit. 

Another  important  rule  is,  to  form  all  plans  and  arrange- 
ments in  consistency  with  the  means  at  command,  and  the 
character  of  those  around.  A  woman  who  has  a  heedless 
husband,  and  young  children,  and  incompetent  domestics, 
ought  not  to  make  such  plans  as  one  may  properly  form 
who  will  not,  in  so  many  directions,  meet  embarrassment. 
She  must  aim  at  just  as  much  as  she  can  probably  attain, 
and  no  more ;  and  thus  she  will  usually  escape  much  temp- 
tation, and  much  of  the  irritation  of  disappointment. 

The  fifth,  and  a  very  important  consideration,  is,  that 
system,  economy,  and  neatness  are  valuable,  only  so  far  as 
they  tend  to  promote  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  those 
affected.  Some  women  seem  to  act  under  the  impression 
that  these  advantages  must  be  secured,  at  all  events,  even 
if  the  comfort  of  the  family  be  the  sacrifice.  True,  it  is 
very  important  that  children  grow  up  in  habits  of  system, 
neatness,  and  order ;  and  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  mo- 
ther give  them  every  incentive,  both  by  precept  and  example ; 
but  it  is  still  more  important  that  they  grow  up  with  ami- 
able tempers,  that  they  learn  to  meet  the  crosses  of  life 
with  patience  and  cheerfulness ;  and  nothing  has  a  greater 
influence  to  secure  this  than  a  mother's  example.  When- 
ever, therefore,  a  woman  can  not  accomplish  her  plans  of 
neatness  and  order  without  injury  to  her  own  temper  or 
to  the  temper  of  others,  she  ought  to  modify  and  reduce 
them  until  she  can. 

The  sixth  method  relates  to  the  government  of  the  tones 


216  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

of  voice.  In  many  cases,  when  a  woman's  domestic  ar- 
rangements are  suddenly  and  seriously  crossed,  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  feel  some  irritation.  But  it  is  always  possible 
to  refrain  from  angry  tones.  A  woman  can  resolve  that, 
whatever  happens,  she  will  not  speak  till  she  can  do  it  in  a 
calm  and  gentle  manner.  Perfect  silence  is  a  safe  resort, 
when  such  control  can  not  be  attained  as  enables  a  person 
to  speak  calmly  ;  and  this  determination,  persevered  in,  will 
eventually  be  crowned  with  success. 

Many  persons  seem  to  imagine  that  tones  of  anger  are 
needful,  in  order  to  secure  prompt  obedience.  But  observa- 
tion has  convinced  the  writer  that  they  are  never  necessary ; 
that  in  all  cases,  reproof,  administered  in  calm  tones,  would 
be  better.  A  case  will  be  given  in  illustration. 

A  young  girl  had  been  repeatedly  charged  to  avoid  a 
certain  arrangement  in  cooking.  On  one  day,  when  com- 
pany was  invited  to  dine,  the  direction  was  forgotten,  and 
the  consequence  was  an  accident,  which  disarranged  every 
thing,  seriously  injured  the  principal  dish,  and  delayed  din- 
ner for  an  hour.  The  mistress  of  the  family  entered  the 
kitchen  just  as  it  occurred,  and  at  a  glance,  saw  the  extent 
of  the  mischief.  For  a  moment,  her  eyes  flashed,  and  her 
cheeks  glowed ;  but  she  held  her  peace.  After  a  minute  or 
so,  she  gave  directions  in  a  calm  voice,  as  to  the  best  mode 
of  retrieving  the  evil,  and  then  left,  without  a  word  said  to 
the  offender. 

After  the  company  left,  she  sent  for  the  girl,  alone,  and 
in  a  calm  and  kind  manner  pointed  out  the  aggravations  of 
the  case,  and  described  the  trouble  which  had  been  caused 
to  her  husband,  her  visitors,  and  herself.  She  then  por- 
trayed the  future  evils  which  would  result  from  such  habits 
of  neglect  and  inattention,  and  the  modes  of  attempting  to 
overcome  them ;  and  then  offered  a  reward  for  the  future, 
if,  in  a  given  tune,  she  succeeded  in  improving  in  this  re- 
spect. Not  a  tone  of  anger  was  uttered;  and  yet  the 
severest  scolding  of  a  practiced  Xantippe  could  not  have 


GOOD   TEMPER  IN  THE  HOUSEKEEPER.  217 

secured  such  contrition,  and  determination  to  reform,  as 
were  gained  by  this  method. 

But  similar  negligence  is  often  visited  by  a  continuous 
stream  of  complaint  and  reproof,  which,  in  most  cases,  is 
met  either  by  sullen  silence  or  impertinent  retort,  while 
anger  prevents  any  contrition  or  any  resolution  of  future 
amendment. 

It  is  very  certain,  that  some  ladies  do  carry  forward  a 
most  efficient  government,  both  of  children  and  domestics, 
without  employing  tones  of  anger ;  and  therefore  they  are 
not  indispensable,  nor  on  any  account  desirable. 

Though  some  ladies  of  intelligence  and  refinement  do 
fall  unconsciously  into  such  a  practice,  it  is  certainly  very 
unlady-like,  and  in  very  bad  taste,  to  scold ;  and  the  fur- 
ther a  woman  departs  from  all  approach  to  it,  the  more  per- 
fectly she  sustains  her  character  as  a  lady. 

Another  method  of  securing  equanimity,  amid  the  trials 
of  domestic  life  is,  to  cultivate  a  habit  of  making  allowances 
for  the  difficulties,  ignorance,  or  temptations  of  those  who 
violate  rule  or  neglect  duty.  It  is  vain,  and  most  unreason- 
able, to  expect  the  consideration  and  care  of  a  mature  mind 
in  childhood  and  youth ;  or  that  persons  of  such  limited  ad- 
vantages as  most  domestics  have  enjoyed  should  practice 
proper  self-control  and  possess  proper  habits  and  princi- 
ples. 

Every  parent  and  every  employer  needs  daily  to  culti- 
vate the  spirit  expressed  in  the  divine  prayer,  "  Forgive  us 
our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us." 
The  same  allowances  and  forbearance  which  we  supplicate 
from  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  desire  from  our  fellow-men 
in  reference  to  our  own  deficiencies,  we  should  constantly 
aim  to  extend  to  all  who  cross  our  feelings  and  interfere 
with  our  plans. 

The  last  and  most  important  mode  of  securing  a  placid 
and  cheerful  temper  and  tones  is,  by  a  constant  belief  in 
the  influence  of  a  superintending  Providence.  All  persons 


218  .     THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

are  too  much  in  the  habit  of  regarding  the  more  important 
events  of  life  exclusively  as  under  the  control  of  Perfect 
Wisdom.  But  the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  or  the  loss  of  a  hair, 
they  do  not  feel  to  be  equally  the  result  of  his  directing 
agency.  In  consequence  of  this,  Christian  persons  who  aim 
at  perfect  and  cheerful  submission  to  heavy  afflictions,  and 
who  succeed  to  the  edification  of  all  about  them,  are 
sometimes  sadly  deficient  under  petty  crosses.  If  a  beloved 
child  be  laid  in  the  grave,  even  if  its  death  resulted  from  the 
carelessness  of  a  domestic  or  of  a  physician,  the  eye  is  turned 
from  the  subordinate  agent  to  the  Supreme  Guardian  of  all ; 
and  to  him  they  bow,  without  murmur  or  complaint.  But 
if  a  pudding  be  burnt,  or  a  room  badly  swept,  or  an  errand 
forgotten,  then  vexation  and  complaint  are  allowed,  just  as 
if  these  events  were  not  appointed  by  Perfect  Wisdom  as 
much  as  the  sorer  chastisement. 

A  woman,  therefore,  needs  to  cultivate  the  habitual  feel- 
ing that  all  the  events  of  her  nursery  and  kitchen  are 
brought  about  by  the  permission  of  our  Heavenly  Father, 
and  that  fretfulness  or  complaint  in  regard  to  these  is,  in 
fact,  complaining  at  the  appointments  of  God,  and  is  really 
as  sinful  as  unsubmissive  murmurs  amid  the  sorer  chastise- 
ments of  his  hand.  And  a  woman  who  cultivates  this 
habit  of  referring  all  the  minor  trials  of  life  to  the  wise  and 
benevolent  agency  of  a  heavenly  Parent,  and  daily  seeks 
his  sympathy  and  aid  to  enable  her  to  meet  them  with  a 
quiet  and  cheerful  spirit,  will  soon  find  it  the  perennial 
spring  of  abiding  peace  and  content. 

The  power  of  religion  to  impart  dignity  and  importance  to 
the  ordinary  and  seemingly  petty  details  of  domestic  life, 
greatly  depends  upon  the  degree  of  faith  in  the  reality  of  a 
life  to  come,  and  -o£  its  eternal  results.  A  woman  who  is 
training  a  family  simply  with  reference  to  this  life  may 
find  exalted  motives  as  she  looks  forward  to  unborn  genera- 
tions whose  temporal  prosperity  and  happiness  are  depend- 
ing upon  her  fidelity  and  skill.  But  one  wh )  truly  and 


GOOD   TEMPER  IN  THE  HOUSEKEEPER.  219 

firmly  believes  that  this  life  is  but  the  beginning  of  an  eter- 
nal career  to  every  immortal  inmate  of  her  home,  and  that 
the  formation  of  tastes,  habits,  and  character,  under  her 
care,  will  bring  forth  fruits  of  good  or  ill,  not  only  through 
earthly  generations,  but  through  everlasting  ages ;  such  a 
woman  secures  a  calm  and  exalted  principle  of  actfon, 
which  no  earthly  motives  can  impart. 


xvn. 

HABITS    OF    SYSTEM    AND    OEDEE 

ANT  discussion  of  the  equality  of  the  sexes,  as  to  intellec- 
tual capacity,  seems  frivolous  and  useless,  both  because  it 
can  never  be  decided,  and  because  there  would  be  no  pos- 
sible advantage  in  the  decision.  But  one  topic,  which  is 
often  drawn  into  this  discussion,  is  of  far  more  consequence ; 
and  that  is,  the  relative  importance  and  difficulty  of  the 
duties  a  woman  is  called  to  perform. 

It  is  generally  assumed,  and  almost  as  generally  conceded, 
that  a  housekeeper's  business  and  cares  are  contracted  and 
trivial ;  and  that  the  proper  discharge  of  her  duties  de- 
mands far  less  expansion  of  mind  and  vigor  of  intellect 
than  the  pursuits  of  the  other  sex.  This  idea  has  prevailed 
because  women,  as  a  mass,  have  never  been  educated  with 
reference  to  their  most  important  duties ;  while  that  por- 
tion of  their  employments  which  is  of  least  value  has  been 
regarded  as  the  chief,  if  not  the  sole,  concern  of  a  woman. 
The  covering  of  the  body,  the  convenience  of  residences, 
and  the  gratification  of  the  appetite,  have  been  too  much 
regarded  as  the  chief  objects  on  which  her  intellectual 
powers  are  to  be  exercised. 

But  as  society  gradually  shakes  off  the  remnants  of  bar- 
barism and  the  intellectual  and  moral  interests  of  mail  rise, 
in  estimation,  above  the  merely  sensual,  a  truer  estimate  is 
formed  of  woman's  duties,  and  of  the  measure  of  intellect 
requisite  for  the  proper  discharge  of  them.  Let  any  man 
of  sense  and  discernment  become  the  member  of  a  large 


HABITS   OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER.  221 

household,  in  which  a  well-educated  and  pious  woman  is  en- 
deavoring systematically  to  discharge  her  multiform  duties ; 
let  him  fully  comprehend  all  her  cares,  difficulties,  and  per- 
plexities ;  and  it  is  probable  he  would  coincide  in  the  opin- 
ion that  no  statesman,  at  the  head  of  a  nation's  affairs,  had 
more  frequent  calls  for  wisdom,  firmness,  tact,  discrimina- 
tion, prudence,  and  versatility  of  talent,  than  such  a  woman. 
She  has  a  husband,  to  whose  peculiar  tastes  and  habits 
she  must  accommodate  herself;   she  has  children  whose 
health  she  must  guard,  whose  physical  constitutions  she  must 
study   and   develop,  whose  temper   and   habits  she  must 
regulate,  whose  principles  she  must  form,  whose  pursuits 
she  must  guide.     She  has  constantly  changing  domestics, 
with  all  varieties  of   temper  and  habits,  whom  she  must 
govern,  instruct,  and  direct ;  she  is  required  to  regulate  the 
finances  of  the  domestic  state,  and  constantly  to  adapt  ex- 
penditures to  the  means  and  to  the  relative  claims  of  each 
department.     She  has  the  direction  of  the  kitchen,  where 
ignorance,  forgetfulness,  and  awkwardness  are  to  be  so  re- 
gulated that  the  various  operations  shall  each  start  at  the 
right  time,  and  all  be  in  completeness  at  the  same  given 
hour.    She  has  the  claims  of  society  to  meet,  visits  to  receive 
and  return,  and  the  duties  of  hospitality  to  sustain.     She 
has  the  poor  to  relieve ;  benevolent  societies  to  aid ;  the 
schools  of  her  children  to  inquire  and  decide  about ;  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  the  aged  ;  the  nursing  of  infancy  ;  and  the 
endless  miscellany  of  odd  items,  constantly  recurring  in  a 
large  family. 

Surely,  it  is  a  pernicious  and  mistaken  idea,  that  the 
duties  which  tax  a  woman's  mind  are  petty,  trivial,  or  un- 
worthy of  the  highest  grade  of  intellect  and  moral  worth. 
Instead  of  allowing  this  feeling,  every  woman  should  im- 
bibe, from  early  youth,  the  impression  that  she  is  in  train- 
ing for  the  discharge  of  the  most  important,  the  most  dif- 
ficult, and  the  most  sacred  and  interesting  duties  that  can 
possibly  employ  the  highest  intellect.  She  ought  to  feel 


222  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

that  her  station  and  responsibilities  in  the  great  drama  of 
life  are  second  to  none,  either  as  viewed  by  her  Maker,  or 
in  the  estimation  of  all  minds  whose  judgment  is  most 
worthy  of  respect. 

She  who  is  the  mother  and  housekeeper  in  a  large  family 
is  the  sovereign  of  an  empire,  demanding  more  varied 
cares,  and  involving  more  difficult  duties,  than  are  really 
exacted  of  her  who  wears  a  crown  and  professedly  regu- 
lates the  interests  of  the  greatest  nation  on  earth. 

There  is  no  one  thing  more  necessary  to  a  housekeeper 
in  performing  her  varied  duties,  than  a  habit  of  system 
and  order ;  and  yet,  the  peculiarly  desultory  nature  of 
women's  pursuits,  and  the  embarrassments  resulting  from 
the  state  of  domestic  service  in  this  country,  render  it  very 
difficult  to  form  such  a  habit.  But  it  is  sometimes  the 
case  that  women  who  could  and  would  carry  forward  a 
systematic  plan  of  domestic  economy  do  not  attempt  it, 
simply  from  a  want  of  knowledge  of  the  various  modes  of 
introducing  it.  It  is  with  reference  to  such,  that  various 
modes  of  securing  system  and  order,  which  the  writer  has 
seen  adopted,  will  be  pointed  out. 

A  wise  economy  is  nowhere  more  conspicuous,  than  in 
a  systematic  apportionment  of  time  to  different  pursuits. 
There  are  duties  of  a  religious,  intellectual,  social,  and  do- 
mestic nature,  each  having  different  relative  claims  on  at- 
tention. Unless  a  person  has  some  general  plan  of  appor- 
tioning these  claims,  some  will  intrench  on  others,  and 
some,  it  is  probable,  will  be  entirely  excluded.  Thus,  some 
find  religious,  social,  and  domestic  duties  so  numerous,  that 
no  time  is  given  to  intellectual  improvement.  Others  find 
either  social,  or  benevolent,  or  religious  interests  excluded 
by  the  extent  and  variety  of  other  engagements. 

It  is  wise,  therefore,  for  all  persons  to  devise  a  systematic 
plan,  which  they  will  at  least  keep  in  view,  and  aim  to 
accomplish  ;  'and  by  which  a  proper  proportion  of  time 
shall  be  secured  for  all  the  duties  of  life. 


HABITS  OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER. 

In  forming  such  a  plan,  every  woman  must  accommo- 
date herself  to  the  peculiarities  of  her  situation.  If  she 
has  a  large  family  and  a  small  income,  she  must  devote  far 
more  time  to  the  simple  duty  of  providing  food  and  rai- 
ment than  would  be  right  were  she  in  affluence,  and  with- 
a  small  family.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  draw  out 
any  general  plan,  which  all  can  adopt.  But  there  are 
some  general  principles,  which  ought  to  be  the  guiding 
rules,  when  a  woman  arranges  her  domestic  employments. 
These  principles  are  to  be  based  on  Christianity,  which 
teaches  us  to  "seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  to 
deem  food,  raiment,  and  the  conveniences  of  life,  as  of 
secondary  account.  Every  woman,  then,  ought  to  start 
with  the  assumption,  that  the  moral  and  religious  interests 
of  her  family  are  of  more  consequence  than  any  worldly 
concern,  and  that,  whatever  else  may  be  sacrificed,  these 
shall  be  the  leading  object,  in  all  her  arrangements,  in  re- 
spect to  time,  money,  and  attention. 

It  is  also  one  of  the  plainest  requisitions  of  Christianity, 
that  we  devote  some  of  our  time  and  efforts  to  the  com- 
fort and  improvement  of  others.  There  is  no  duty  so  con- 
stantly enforced,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  as 
that  of  charity,  in  dispensing  to  those  who  are  desti- 
tute of  the  blessings  we  enjoy.  In  selecting  objects  of 
charity,  the  same  rule  applies  to  others  as  to  our- 
selves; their  moral  and  religious  interests  are  of  the 
highest  moment,  and  for  them,  as  well  as  for  ourselves, 
we  are  to  "  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Another  general  principle  is,  that  our  intellectual  and 
social  interests  are  to  be  preferred  to  the  mere  gratifica- 
tion of  taste  or  appetite.  A  portion  of  time,  therefore, 
must  be  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect  and  the 
social  affections. 

Another  is,  that  the  mere  gratification  of  appetite  is 
to  be  placed  last  in  our  estimate ;  so  that,  when  a  question 
arises  as  to  which  shall  be  sacrificed,  some  intellectual, 


224 

moral,  or  social  advantage,  or  some  gratification  of  sense, 
we  should  invariably  sacrifice  the  last. 

As  health  is  indispensable  to  the  discharge  of  every 
duty,  nothing  which  sacrifices  that  blessing  is  to  be  al- 
lowed in  order  to  gain  any  other  advantage  or  enjoyment. 
There  are  emergencies,  when  it  is  right  to  risk  health  and 
life,  to  save  ourselves  and  others  from  greater  evils ;  but 
these  are  exceptions,  which  do  not  militate  against  the 
general  rule.  Many  persons  imagine  that,  if  they  violate 
the  laws  of  health,  in  order  to  attend  to  religious  or  do- 
mestic duties,  they  are  guiltless  before  God.  But  such 
greatly  mistake.  We  directly  violate  the  law,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  kill,"  when  we  do  what  tends  to  risk  or  shorten 
our  own  life.  The  life  and  happiness  of  all  his  creatures 
are  dear  to  our  Creator ;  and  he  is  as  much  displeased 
when  we  injure  our  own  interests,  as  when  we  injure 
those  of  others.  The  idea,  therefore,  that  we  are  excusa- 
ble if  we  harm  no  one  but  ourselves,  is  false  and  perni- 
cious. These,  then,  are  some  general  principles,  to  guide 
a  woman  in  systematizing  her  duties  and  pursuits. 

The  Creator  of  all  things  is  a  Being  of  perfect  system 
and  order  ;  and,  to  aid  us  in  our  duty  in  this  respect,  he 
has  divided  our  time,  by  a  regularly  returning  day  of  rest 
from  worldly  business.  In  following  this  example,  the  in- 
tervening six  days  may  be  subdivided  to  secure  similar  bene- 
fits. In  doing  this,  a  certain  portion  of  time  must  be  given 
to  procure  the  means  of  livelihood,  and  for  preparing  food, 
raiment,  and  dwellings.  To  these  objects,  some  must  de- 
vote more,  and  others  less,  attention.  The  remainder  of 
time  not  necessarily  thus  employed,  might  be  divided 
somewhat  in  this  manner :  The  leisure  of  two  afternoons 
and  evenings  could  be  devoted  to  religious  and  benevolent 
objects,  such  as  religious  meetings,  charitable  associations, 
school  visiting,  and  attention  to  the  sick  and  poor.  The 
leisure  of  two  other  days  might  be  devoted  to  intellectual 
improvement,  and  the  pursuits  of  taste.  The  leisure  of 


HABITS   OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER.  225 

another  day  might  be  devoted  to  social  enjoyments,  ii 
making  or  receiving  visits ;  and  that  of  another,  to  mis 
cellaneous  domestic  pursuits,  not  included  in  the  othei 
particulars. 

It  is  probable  that  few  persons  could  carry  out  such  ai 
arrangement  very  strictly ;  but  every  one  can  make  a  sys 
tematic  apportionment  of  time,  and  at  least  aim  at  accom 
plishing  it ;  and  they  can  also  compare  with  such  a  gen 
eral  outline,  the  time  which  they  actually  devote  to  these 
different  objects,  for  the  purpose  of  modifying  any  mis- 
taken proportions. 

Without  attempting  any  such  systematic  employment 
of  time,  and  carrying  it  out,  so  far  as  they  can  control  cir- 
cumstances, most  women  are  rather  driven  along  by  the 
daily  occurrences  of  life ;  so  that,  instead  of  being  the  in- 
telligent regulators  of  their  own  time,  they  are  the  mere 
sport  of  circumstances.  There  is  nothing  which  so  dis- 
tinctly marks  the  difference  between  weak  and  strong 
minds  as  the  question,  whether  they  control  circumstan- 
ces or  circumstances  control  them. 

It  is  very  much  to  be  feared,  that  the  apportionment  of 
time  actually  made  by  most  women  exactly  inverts  the 
order  required  by  reason  and  Christianity.  Thus,  the 
furnishing  a  needless  variety  of  food,  the  conveniences  of 
dwellings,  and  the  adornments  of  dress,  often  take  a  larger 
portion  of  time  than  is  given  to  any  other  object.  Next 
after  this,  comes  intellectual  improvement ;  and,  last  of  all, 
benevolence  and  religion. 

It  may  be  urged,  that  it  is  indispensable  for  most  per- 
sons to  give  more  time  to  earn  a  livelihood,  and  to  prepare 
food,  raiment,  and  dwellings,  than  to  any  other  object. 
But  it  may  be  asked,  how  much  of  the  time,  devoted  to 
these  objects,  is  employed  in  preparing  varieties  of  food 
not  necessary,  but  rather  injurious,  and  how  much  is  spent 
for  those  parts  of  dress  and  furniture  not  indispensable,  and 
merely  ornamental  ?  Let  a  woman  subtract  from  her  do- 


226  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

mestic  employments  all  the  time  given  to  pursuits  which 
are  of  no  use,  except  as  they  gratify  a  taste  for  ornament, 
or  minister  increased  varieties  to  tempt  the  appetite,  and 
she  will  find  that  much  which  she  calls  "  domestic  duty," 
and  which  prevents  her  attention  to  intellectual,  benevo- 
lent, and  religious  objects,  should  be  called  by  a  very  differ- 
ent name. 

No  woman  has  a  right  to  give  up  attention  to  the  higher 
interests  of  herself  and  others,  for  the  ornaments  of  person  or 
the  gratification  of  the  palate.  To  a  certain  extent,  these 
lower  objects  are  lawful  and  desirable ;  but  when  they  in- 
trude on  nobler  interests,  they  become  selfish  and  degrad- 
ing. Every  woman,  then,  when  employing  her  hands  in 
ornamenting  her  person,  her  children,  or  her  house,  ought 
to  calculate  whether  she  has  devoted  as  much  time  to  the 
really  more  important  wants  of  herself  and  others.  If 
she  has  not,  she  may  know  that  she  is  doing  wrong,  and 
that  her  system  for  apportioning  her  time  and  pursuits 
should  be  altered. 

Some  persons  endeavor  to  systematize  their  pursuits  by 
apportioning  them  to  particular  hours  of  each  day.  For 
example,  a  certain  period  before  breakfast,  is  given  to  de- 
votional duties ;  after  breakfast,  certain  hours  are  devoted 
to  exercise  and  domestic  employments;  other  hours,  to 
sewing,  or  reading,  or  visiting ;  and  others,  to  benevolent 
duties.  But  in  most  cases,  it  is  more  difficult  to  system- 
atize  the  hours  of  each  day,  than  it  is  to  secure  some  reg- 
ular division  of  the  week. 

In  regard  to  the  minutiae  of  family  work,  the  writer  has 
known  the  following  methods  to  be  adopted.  Monday, 
with  some  of  the  best  housekeepers,  is  devoted  to  prepar- 
ing for  the  labors  of  the  week.  Any  extra  cooking,  the 
purchasing  of  articles  to  be  used  during  the  week,  the  as- 
sorting of  clothes  for  the  wash,  and  mending  such  as  would 
otherwise  be  injured — these,  and  similar  items,  belong  to 
this  day.  Tuesday  is  devoted  to  washing,  and  Wednesday 


HABITS   OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER.  227 

to  ironing.  On  Thursday,  the  ironing  is  finished  off,  the 
clothes  are  folded  and  put  away,  and  all  articles  which 
need  mending  are  put  in  the  mending-basket,  and  attended 
to.  Friday  is  devoted  to  sweeping  and  house-cleaning. 
On  Saturday,  and  especially  the  last  Saturday  of  every 
month,  every  department  is  put  in  order  ;  the  casters  and 
table  furniture  are  regulated,  the  pantry  and  cellar  in- 
spected, the  trunks,  drawers,  and  closets  arranged,  and 
every  thing  about  the  house  put  in  order  for  Sunday.  By 
this  regular  recurrence  of  a  particular  time  for  inspecting 
every  thing,  nothing  is  forgotten  till  ruined  by  neglect. 

Another  mode  of  systematizing  relates  to  providing 
proper  supplies  of  conveniences,  and  proper  places  in 
which  to  keep  them.  Thus,  some  ladies  keep  a  large  closet, 
in  which  are  placed  the  tubs,  pails,  dippers,  soap-dishes, 
starch,  blueing,  clothes-lines,  clothes-pins,  and  every  other 
article  used  in  washing ;  and  in  the  same,  or  another 
place,  is  kept  every  convenience  for  ironing.  In  the 
sewing  department,  a  trunk,  with  suitable  partitions,  is 
provided,  in  which  are  placed,  each  in  its  proper  place, 
white  thread  of  all  sizes,  colored  thread,  yarns  for  mend- 
ing, colored  and  black  sewing-silks  and  twist,  tapes  and 
bobbins  of  all  sizes,  white  and  colored  welting-cords,  silk 
braids  and  cords,  needles  of  all  sizes,  papers  of  pins,  rem- 
nants of  linen  and  colored  cambric,  a  supply  of  all  kinds 
of  buttons  used  in  the  family,  black  and  white  hooks  and 
eyes,  a  yard  measure,  and  all  the  patterns  used  in  cutting 
and  fitting.  These  are  done  up  in  separate  parcels,  and 
labeled.  In  another  trunk,  or  in  a  piece-bag,  such  as  has 
been  previously  described,  are  kept  all  pieces  used  in  mend- 
ing, arranged  in  order.  A  trunk,  like  the  first  mentioned, 
will  save  many  steps,  and  often  much  time  and  perplexity ; 
while  by  purchasing  articles  thus  by  the  quantity,  they  come 
much  cheaper  than  if  bought  in  little  portions  as  they  are 
wanted.  Such  a  trunk  should  be  kept  locked,  and  a 
smaller  supply  for  current  use  retained  in  a  work-basket. 


228  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

A  full  supply  of  all  conveniences  in  the  kitchen  and  cel- 
lar, and  a  place  appointed  for  each  article,  very  much  fa- 
cilitate domestic  labor.  For  want  of  this,  much  vexation 
and  loss  of  time  is  occasioned  while  seeking  vessels  in  use, 
or  in  cleansing  those  employed  by  different  persons  for 
various  purposes.  It  would  be  far  better  for  a  lady  to  give 
up  some  expensive  article  in  the  parlor,  and  apply  the  mo- 
ney thus  saved  for  kitchen  conveniences,  than  to  have  a 
stinted  supply  where  the  most  labor  is  to  be  performed. 
If  our  countrywomen  would  devote  more  to  comfort  and 
convenience,  and  less  to  show,  it  would  be  a  great  improve- 
ment. Expensive  mirrors  and  pier-tables  in  the  parlor,  and 
an  unpainted,  gloomy,  ill-furnished  kitchen,  not  unfrequent- 
ly  are  found  under  the  same  roof. 

Another  important  item  in  systematic  economy  is,  the  ap- 
portioning of  regular  employment  to  the  various  members 
of  a  family.  If  a  housekeeper  can  secure  the  cooperation 
of  all  her  family,  she  will  find  that  "  many  hands  make 
light  work."  There  is  no  greater  mistake  than  in  bring- 
ing up  children  to  feel  that  they  must  be  taken  care  of, 
and  waited  on  by  others,  without  any  corresponding  obli- 
gations on  their  part.  The  extent  to  which  young  chil- 
dren can  be  made  useful  in  a  family  would  seem  surpris- 
ing to  those  who  have  never  seen  a  systematic  and  regular 
plan  for  utilizing  their  services.  The  writer  has  been  in  a 
family  where  a  little  girl,  of  eight  or  nine  years  of  age, 
washed  and  dressed  herself  and  young  brother,. and  made 
their  small  beds,  before  breakfast ;  set  and  cleared  all  the 
tables  for  meals,  with  a  little  help  from  a  grown  person  in 
moving  tables  and  spreading  cloths ;  while  all  the  dusting 
of  parlors  and  chambers  was  also  neatly  performed  by  her. 
A  brother  of  ten  years  old  brought  in  and  piled  all  the 
wood  used  in  the  kitchen  and  parlor,  brushed  the  boots 
and  shoes,  went  on  errands,  and  took  all  the  care  of  the 
poultry.  They  were  children  whose  parents  could  afford 
to  hire  servants  to  do  this,  but  who  chose  to  have  their 


HABITS  OF  SYSTEM  AND    ORDER.  *  229 

• 

children  grow  up  healthy  and  industrious,  while  proper  in- 
struction, system,  and  encouragement  made  these  services 
rather  a  pleasure  than  otherwise,  to  the  children. 

Some  parents  pay  their  children  for  such  services ;  but 
this  is  hazardous,  as  tending  to  make  them  feel  that  they 
are  not  bound  to  be  helpful  without  pay,  and  also  as  tend- 
ing to  produce  a  hoarding,  money-making  spirit.  But 
where  children  have  no  hoarding  propensities,  and  need  to  ac- 
quire a  sense  of  the  value  of  property,  it  may  be  well  to  let 
them  earn  money  for  some  extra  services  rather  as  a  favor. 
When  this  is  done,  they  should  be  taught  to  spend  it  for 
others,  as  well  as  for  themselves ;  and  in  this  way,  a  gen- 
erous and  liberal  spirit  will  be  cultivated. 

There  are  some  mothers  who  take  pains  to  teach  their 
boys  most  of  the  domestic  arts  which  their  sisters  learn.  The 
writer  has  seen  boys  mending  their  own  garments  and 
aiding  their  mother  or  sisters  in  the  kitchen,  with  great  skill 
and  adroitness  ;  and,  at  an  early  age,  they  usually  very  much 
relish  joining  in  such  occupations.  The  sons  of  such  mothers, 
in  their  college  life,  or  in  roaming  about  the  world,  or  in 
nursing  a  sick  wife  or  infant,  find  occasion  to  bless  the  fore- 
thought and  kindness  which  prepared  them  for  such  emergen- 
cies. Few  things  are  in  worse  taste  than  for  a  man  needless- 
ly to  busy  himself  in  women's  work ;  and  yet  a  man  never 
appears  in  a  more  interesting  attitude  than  when,  by  skill 
in  such  matters,  he  can  save  a  mother  or  wife  from  care 
and  suffering.  The  more  a  boy  is  taught  to  use  his  hands, 
in  every  variety  of  domestic  employment,  the  more  his  facul- 
ties, both  of  mind  and  body,  are  developed ;  for  mechanical 
pursuits  exercise  the  intellect  as  well  as  the  hands.  The 
early  training  of  New-England  boys,  in  which  they  turn 
their  hand  to  almost  every  thing,  is  one  great  reason  of  the 
quick  perceptions,  versatility  of  mind,  and  mechanical  skill, 
for  which  that  portion  of  our  countrymen  is  distinguished. 

It  is  equally  important  that  young  girls  should  be  taught 
to  do  some  species  of  handicraft  that  generally  is  done  by 


230 

men,  and  especially  with  reference  to  the  frequent  emi- 
gration to  new  territories  where  well-trained  mechanics  are 
scarce.  To  hang  wall-paper,  repair  locks,  glaze  windows, 
and  mend  various  household  articles,  requires  a  skill  in  the 
use  of  tools  which  every  young  girl  should  acquire.  If  she 
never  has  any  occasion  to  apply  this  knowledge  and  skill 
by  her  own  hands,  she  will  often  find  it  needful  in  direct- 
ing and  superintending  incompetent  workmen. 

The  writer  has  known  one  mode  of  systematizing  the  aid 
of  the  older  children  in  a  family,  which,  in  some  cases  of 
very  large  families,  it  may  be  well  to  imitate.  In  the  case 
referred  to,  when  the  oldest  daughter  was  eight  or  nine 
years  old,  an  infant  sister  was  given  to  her,  as  her  special 
charge.  She  tended  it,  made  and  mended  its  clothes,  taught 
it  to  read,  and  was  its  nurse  and  guardian,  through  all  its 
childhood.  Another  infant  was  given  to  the  next  daugh- 
ter, and  thus  the  children  were  all  paired  in  this  interest- 
ing relation.  In  addition  to  the  relief  thus  afforded  to  the 
mother,  the  elder  children  were  in  this  way  qualified  for 
their  future  domestic  relations,  and  both  older  and  younger 
bound  to  each  other  by  peculiar  ties  of  tenderness  and  grati- 
tude. 

In  offering  these  examples  of  various  modes  of  systema- 
tizing, one  suggestion  may  be  worthy  of  attention.  It  is 
not  unfrequently  the  case,  that  ladies,  who  find  themselves 
cumbered  with  oppressive  cares,  after  reading  remarks  on 
the  benefits  of  system,  immediately  commence  the  task  of 
arranging  their  pursuits,  with  great  vigor  and  hope.  They 
divide  the  day  into  regular  periods,  and  give  each  hour  its 
du  ty ;  they  systematize  their  work,  and  endeavor  to  bring 
every  thing  into  a  regular  routine.  But,  in  a  short  time, 
they  find  themselves  bained,  discouraged,  and  disheartened, 
and  finally  relapse  into  their  former  desultory  ways,  in  a 
sort  of  resigned  despair. 

The  difficulty,  in  such  cases,  is,  that  they  attempt  too 
much  at  a  time.  There  is  nothing  which  so  much  depends 


HABITS   OF  SYSTEM  AND  ORDER.  231 

upon  habit,  as  a  systematic  mode  of  performing  duty ;  and 
where  no  such  habit  has  been  formed,  it  is  impossible  for  a 
novice  to  start,  at  once,  into  a  universal  mode  of  system- 
atizing, which  none  but  an  adept  could  carry  through. 
The  only  way  for  such  persons  is  to  begin  with  a  little 
at  a  time.  Let  them  select  some  three  or  four  things, 
and  resolutely  attempt  to  conquer  at  these  points.  In 
time,  a  habit  will  be  formed,  of  doing  a  few  things  at  re- 
gular periods,  and  in  a  systematic  way.  Then  it  will  be 
easy  to  add  a  few  more  ;  and  thus,  by  a  gradual  process, 
the  object  can  be  secured,  which  it  would  be  vain  to  at- 
tempt by  a  more  summary  course. 

Early  rising  is  almost  an  indispensable  condition  to  suc- 
cess, in  such  an  effort ;  but  where  a  woman  lacks  either  the 
health  or  the  energy  to  secure  a  period  for  devotional  du- 
ties before  breakfast,  let  her  select  that  hour  of  the  day  in 
which  she  will  be  least  liable  to  interruption,  and  let  her  then 
seek  strength  and  wisdom  from  the  only  true  Source.  At 
this  time,  let  her  take  a  pen,  and  make  a  list  of  all  the 
things  which  she  considers  as  duties.  Then,  let  a  calcula- 
tion be  made,  whether  there  be  time  enough,  in  the  day  or 
the  week,  for  all  these  duties.  If  there  be  not,  let  the  least 
important  be  stricken  from  the  list,  as  not  being  duties,  and 
therefore  to  be  omitted.  In  doing  this,  let  a  woman  remem- 
ber that,  though  "  what  we  shall  eat,  and  what  we  shall 
drink,  and  wherewithal  we  shall  be  clothed,"  are  matters 
requiring  due  attention,  they  are  very  apt  to  obtain  a 
wrong  relative  importance,  while  intellectual,  social,  and 
moral  interests  receive  too  little  regard. 

In  this  country,  eating,  dressing,  and  household  furni- 
ture and  ornaments,  take  far  too  large  a  place  in  the  esti- 
mate of  relative  importance  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  most 
women  could  modify  their  views  and  practice,  so  as  to  come 
nearer  to  the  Saviour's  requirements.  No  woman  has  a 
right  to  put  a  stitch  of  ornament  on  any  article  of  dress  or 
furniture,  or  to  provide  one  superfluity  in  food,  until  she 


232  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

is  sure  she  can  secure  time  for  all  her  social,  intellectual, 
benevolent,  and  religious  duties.  If  a  woman  will  take  the 
trouble  to  make  such  a  calculation  as  this,  she  will  usually 
find  that  she  has  time  enough  to  perform  all  her  duties 
easily  and  well. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  conscientious  woman  to  secure  that 
peaceful  mind  and  cheerful  enjoyment  of  life  which  all 
should  seek,  who  is  constantly  finding  her  duties  jarring 
with  each  other,  and  much  remaining  undone,  which  she 
feels  that  she  ought  to  do.  In  consequence  of  this,  there 
will  be  a  secret  uneasiness,  which  will  throw  a  shade  over 
the  whole  current  of  life,  never  to  be  removed,  till  she  so 
efficiently  defines  and  regulates  her  duties  that  she  can 
fulfill  them  all. 

And  here  the  writer  would  urge  upon  young  ladies  the 
importance  of  forming  habits  of  system,  while  unembar- 
rassed with  those  multiplied  cares  which  will  make  the 
task  so  much  more  difficult  and  hopeless.  Every  young 
lady  can  systematize  her  pursuits,  to  a  certain  extent.  She 
can  have  a  particular  day  for  mending  her  wardrobe,  and 
for  arranging  her  trunks,  closets,  and  drawers.  She  can 
keep  her  work-basket,  her  desk  at  school,  and  all  her  other 
conveniences,  in  their  proper  places,  and  in  regular  order. 
She  can  have  regular  periods  for  reading,  walking,  visiting, 
study,  and  domestic  pursuits.  And  by  following  this 
method  in  youth,  she  will  form  a  taste  for  regularity  and  a 
habit  of  system,  which  will  prove  a  blessing  to  her  through 
life. 


XYIII: 

GIVING   W   CHARITY. 

IT  is  probable  that  there  is  no  point  of  duty  whereon 
conscientious  persons  differ  more  in  opinion,  or  where  they 
find  it  more  difficult  to  form  discriminating  and  decided 
views,  than  on  the  matter  of  charity.  That  we  are  bound 
to  give  some  of  our  time,  money,  and  efforts,  to  relieve  the 
destitute,  all  allow.  But,  as  to  how  much  we  are  to  give, 
and  on  whom  our  charities  shall  be  bestowed,  many  a  re- 
flecting mind  has  been  at  a  loss.  Yet  it  seems  very  desir- 
able that,  in  reference  to  a  duty  so  constantly  and  so  stren- 
uously urged  by  the  Supreme  Ruler,  we  should  be  able  so 
to  fix  metes  and  bounds,  as  to  keep  a  conscience  void  of 
offense,  and  to  free  the  mind  from  disquieting  fears  of  de- 
ficiency. 

The  writer  has  found  no  other  topic  of  investigation  so 
beset  with  difficulty,  and  so  absolutely  without  the  range  of 
definite  rules  which  can  apply  to  all,  in  all  circumstances. 
But  on  this,  as  on  previous  topics,  there  seem  to  be  general 
principles,  by  the  aid  of  which  any  candid  mind,  sincerely 
desirous  of  obeying  the  commands  of  Christ,  however  much 
self-denial  may  be  involved,  can  arrive  at  definite  conclu- 
sions as  to  its  own  individual  obligations:  so  that  when 
these  are  fulfilled,  the  mind  may  be  at  peace. 

But  for  a  mind  that  is  worldly,  living  mainly  to  seek  its 
own  pleasures  instead  of  living  to  please  God.  no  principles 
can  be  so  fixed  as  not  to  leave  a  ready  escape  from  all  obli- 
gation. Such  minds,  either  by  indolence  (and  consequent 
ignorance)  or  by  sophistry,  will  convince  themselves  that  a 


234  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

life  of  engrossing  self-indulgence,  with  perhaps  the  gift  of 
a  few  dollars  and  a  few  hours  of  time,  may  suffice  to  fulfill 
the  requisitions  of  the  Eternal  Judge. 

For  such  minds,  no  reasonings  will  avail,  till  the  heart  is 
so  changed  that  to  learn  the  will  and  follow  the  example 
of  Jesus  Christ  become  the  leading  objects  of  interest  and 
effort.  It  is  to  aid  those  who  profess  to  possess  this  temper 
of  mind  that  the  following  suggestions  are  offered. 

The  first  consideration  which  gives  definiteness  to  this 
subject  is  a  correct  view  of  the  object  for  which  we  are 
placed  in  this  world.  A  great  many,  even  of  professed  Chris- 
tians, seem  to  be  acting  on  the  supposition  that  the  object 
of  life  is  to  secure  as  much  as  possible  of  all  the  various  en- 
joyments placed  within  reach.  Not  so  teaches  reason  or 
revelation.  From  these  we  learn  that,  though  the  happi- 
ness of  his  creatures  is  the  end  for  which  God  created  and 
sustains  them,  yet  this  happiness  depends  not  on  the  vari- 
ous modes  of  gratification  put  within  our  reach,  but  mainly 
on  character.  A  man  may  possess  all  the  resources  for  en- 

•/       S. 

joyment  which  this  world  can  afford,  and  yet  feel  that  "  all 
is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,"  and  that  he  is  supremely 
wretched.  Another  may  be  in  want  of  all  things,  and  yet 
possess  that  living  spring  of  benevolence,  faith,  and  hope, 
which  will  make  an  Eden  of  the  darkest  prison. 

In  order  to  be  perfectly  happy,  man  must  attain  that 
character  which  Christ  exhibited ;  and  the  nearer  he  ap- 
proaches it,  the  more  will  happiness  reign  in  his  breast. 

But  what  was  the  grand  peculiarity  of  the  character  of 
Christ  ?  It  was  self-denying  benevolence.  He  came  not  to 
"  seek  his  own ;"  He  "  went  about  doing  good,"  and  this 
was  his  "meat  and  drink  ;"  that  is,  it  was  this  which  sus- 
tained the  health  and  life  of  his  mind,  as  food  and  drink 
sustain  the  health  and  life  of  the  body.  Now,  the  mind  ol 
man  is  so  made  that  it  can  gradually  be  transformed  into 
the  same  likeness.  A  selfish  being,  who,  for  a  whole  life, 
has  been  nourishing  habits  of  indolent  self-indulgence,  can 


GIVING  IN  CHARITY.  235 

by  taking  Christ  as  his  example,  by  communion  with  him, 
and  by  daily  striving  to  imitate  his  character  and  conduct, 
form  such  a  temper  of  mind  that  "  doing  good  "  will  be- 
come the  chief  and  highest  source  of  enjoyment.  And  this 
heavenly  principle  will  grow  stronger  and  stronger,  until 
self-denial  loses  the  more  painful  part  of  its  character  ;  and 
then,  living  to  make  happiness  will  be  so  delightful  and 
absorbing  a  pursuit,  that  all  exertions,  regarded  as  the 
means  to  this  end,  will  be  like  the  joyous  efforts  of  men 
when  they  strive  for  a  prize  or  a  crown,  with  the  full  hope 
of  success. 

In  this  view  of  the  subject,  efforts  and  sell-denial  for  the 
good  of  others  are  to  be  regarded  not  merely  as  duties  en- 
joined for  the  benefit  of  others,  but  as  the  moral  training 
indispensable  to  the  formation  of  that  character  on  which 
depends  our  own  happiness.  This  view  exhibits  the  full 
meaning  of  the  Saviour's  declaration,  "  How  hardly  shall 
they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God !" 
He  had  before  taught  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  consist- 
ed not  in  such  enjoyments  as  the  worldly  seek,  but  in 
the  temper  of  self-denying  benevolence,  like  his  own ;  and 
as  the  rich  have  far  greater  temptations  to  indolent  self-in- 
dulgence, they  are  far  less  likely  to  acquire  this  temper  than 
those  who,  by  limited  means,  are  inured  to  some  degree  of 
self-denial. 

But  on  this  point,  one  important  distinction  needs  to  be 
made  ;  and  that  is,  between  the  self-denial  which  has  no 
other  aim  than  mere  self-mortification,  and  that  which  is 
exercised  to  secure  greater  good  to  ourselves  and  others. 
The  first  is  the  foundation  of  monasticism,  penances,  and 
all  other  forms  of  asceticism ;  the  latter,  only,  is  that  which 
Christianity  requires. 

A  second  consideration,  which  may  give  definiteness  to 
this  subject,  is,  that  the  formation  of  a  perfect  character  in- 
volves, not  the  extermination  of  any  principles  of  our  na- 
ture, but  rather  the  regulating  of  them,  according  to  the 


236  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME, 

rules  of  reason  and  religion ;  so  that  the  lower  propensities 
shall  always  be  kept  subordinate  to  nobler  principles.  Thus 
we  are  not  to  aim  at  destroying  our  appetites,  or  at  need- 
lessly denying  them,  but  rather  so  to  regulate  them  that 
they  shall  best  secure  the  objects  for  which  they  were  im- 
planted. We  are  not  to  annihilate  the  love  of  praise  and 
admiration  ;  but  so  to  control  it  that  the  favor  of  God  shall 
be  regarded  more  than  the  estimation  of  men.  "We  are  not 
to  extirpate  the  principle  of  curiosity,  which  leads  us  to 
acquire  knowledge ;  but  so  to  direct  it,  that  all  our  acqui- 
sitions shall  be  useful  and  not  frivolous  or  injurious.  And 
thus  with  all  the  principles  of  the  mind :  God  has  implant- 
ed no  desires  in  our  constitution  which  are  evil  and  per- 
nicious. On  the  contrary,  all  our  constitutional  propensi- 
ties, either  of  mind  or  body,  he  designed  we  should  grat- 
ify, whenever  no  evils  would  thence  result,  either  to  our- 
selves or  others.  Such  passions  as  envy,  selfish  ambition, 
contemptuous  pride,  revenge,  and  hatred,  are  to  be  exter- 
minated ;  for  they  are  either  excesses  or  excrescences,  not 
created  by  God,  but  rather  the  result  of  our  own  neglect 
to  form  habits  of  benevolence  and  self-control. 

In  deciding  the  rules  of  our  conduct,  therefore,  we  are 
ever  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  development  of  the  nobler 
principles,  and  the  subjugation  of  inferior  propensities  to 
them,  is  to  be  the  main  object  of  effort  both  for  ourselves 
and  for  others.  And  in  conformity  with  this,  in  all  our 
plans  we  are  to  place  religious  and  moral  interests  as  first 
in  estimation,  our  social  and  intellectual  interests  next,  and 
our  physical  gratifications  as  subordinate  to  all. 

A  third  consideration  is  that,  though  the  means  for  sus- 
taining life  and  health  are  to  be  regarded  as  necessaries, 
without  which  no  other  duties  can  be  performed,  yet  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  time  spent  by  most  persons  in  easy 
circumstances  for  food,  raiment,  and  dwellings,  is  for 
mere  superfluities  •  which  are  right  when  they  do  not  in- 
volve the  sacrifice  of  highe**  interests,  and  wrong  when 


GIVING   IN  CHARITY.  237 

they  do.  Life  and  health  can  be  sustained  in  the  humblest 
dwellings,  with  the  plainest  dress,  and  the  simplest  food ; 
and,  after  taking  from  our  means  what  is  necessary  for  life 
and  health,  the  remainder  is  to  be  so  divided,  that  the 
larger  portion  shall  be  given  4o  supply  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual wants  of  ourselves  and  others,  together  with  the 
physical  requirements  of  the  destitute,  and  the  smaller  • 
share  .to  procure  those  additional  gratifications  of  taste 
and  appetite  which  are  desirable  but  not  indispensable. 
Mankind,  thus  far,  have  never  made  this  apportionment 
of  their  means  ;  although,  just  as  fast  as  they  have  risen 
from  a  savage  state,  mere  physical  wants  have  been  made, 
to  an  increasing  extent,  subordinate  to  higher  objects. 

Another  very  important  consideration  is  that,  in  urging 
the  duty  of  charity  and  the  prior  claims  of  moral  and  re- 
ligious objects,  no  rule  of  duty  should  be  maintained 
which  it  would  not  be  right  and  wise  for  all  to  follow. 
And  we  are  to  test  the  wisdom  of  any  general  rule  by  in- 
quiring what  would  be  the  result  if  all  mankind  should 
practice  according  to  it.  In  view  of  this,  we  are  enabled 
to  judge  of  the  correctness  of  those  who  maintain  that,  to 
be  consistent,  men  believing  in  the  perils  of  all  those  of  our 
race  who  are  not  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Chris- 
tian system  should  give  up  not  merely  the  elegancies 
but  all  the  superfluities  of  life,  and  devote  the  whole  of 
their  means  not  indispensable  to  life  and  health  to  the 
propagation  of  Christianity. 

But  if  this  is  the  duty  of  any,  it  is  the  duty  of  all ;  and 
we  are  to  inquire  what  would  be  the  result,  if  all  con- 
scientious persons  gave  up  the  use  of  all  superfluities. 
Suppose  that  two  millions  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were  conscientious  person^,  and  relinquished  the  use 
of  every  thing  not  absolutely  necessary  to  life  and  health. 
Besides  reducing  the  education  of  the  people  in  all  the 
higher  walks  of  intellectual,  social,  and  even  moral  deve- 
lopment, to  very  narrow  limits,  it  would  instantly  throw 


238  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

out  of  employment  one  half  of  the  whole  community.  The 
writers,  book-makers,  manufacturers,  mechanics,  merchants, 
agriculturists,  and  all  the  agencies  they  employ,  would  be 
beggared,  and  one  half  of  those  not  reduced  to  poverty 
would  be  obliged  to  spend  all  their  extra  means  in  simply 
supplying  necessaries  to  the  other  half.  The  use  of  super- 
fluities, therefore,  to  a  certain  extent,  is  as  indispensable 
to  promote  industry,  virtue,  and  religion,  as  any  direct 
giving  of  money  or  time ;  and  it  is  owing  entirely  to  a 
want  of  reflection  and  of  comprehensive  views,  that  any 
men  ever  make  so  great  a  mistake  as  is  here  exhibited. 

Instead,  then,  of  urging  a  rule  of  duty  which  is  at  once 
irrational  and  impracticable,  there  is  another  course,  which 
commends  itself  to  the  understandings  of  all.  For  what- 
ever may  be  the  practice  of  intelligent  men,  they  univer- 
sally concede  the  principle,  that  our  physical  gratifications 
should  always  be  made  subordinate  to  social,  intellectual, 
and  moral  advantages.  And  all  that  is  required  for  the 
advancement  of  our  whole  race  to  the  most  perfect  state 
of  society  is,  simply,  that  men  should  act  in  agreement 
with  this-  principle.  And  if  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  most  intelligent  of  our  race  should  act  according  to 
this  rule,  under  the  control  of  Christian  benevolence,  the 
immense  supplies  furnished  for  the  general  good  would  be 
far  beyond  what  any  would  imagine  who  had  never  made 
any  calculations  on  the  subject.  In  this  nation  alone, 
suppose  the  one  million  and  more  of  professed  followers 
of  Christ  should  give  a  larger  portion  of  their  means  for 
the  social,  intellectual,  and  moral  wants  of  mankind, 
than  for  the  superfluities  that  minister  to  their  own  taste, 
convenience,  and  appetite ;  it  would  be  enough  to  furnish 
all  the  schools,  colleges,  Bibles,  ministers,  and  missionaries, 
that  the  whole  world  could  demand  ;  or,  at  least,  it  would 
be  far  more  than  properly  qualified  agents  to  administer 
it  could  employ. 

But  it  may  be  objected  that,  though  this  view  in  the 


GIVING  IN  CHARITY.  039 

abstract  looks  plausible  and  rational,  not  one  in  a  thousand 
can  practically  adopt  it.  How  few  keep  any  account,  at 
all,  of  th'eir  current  expenses  !  How  impossible  it  is  to  de- 
termine, exactly,  what  are  necessaries  and  what  are  super- 
fluities !  And  in  regard  to  women,  how  few  have  the  con- 
trol of  an  income,  so  as  not  to  be  bound  by  the  wishes  of 
a  parent  or  a  husband  ! 

In  reference  to  these  difficulties,  the  first  remark  is,  that 
we  are  never  under  obligations  to  do  what  is  entirely  out 
of  our  power;  so  that  those  persons  who  can  not  regu- 
late their  expenses  or  their  charities  are  under  no  sort  of 
obligation  to  attempt  it.  The  second  remark  is  that,  when 
a  rule  of  duty  is  discovered,  if  we  can  not  fully  attain  to  it, 
we  are  bound  to  aim  at  it,  and  to  fulfill  it  just  so  far  as  we 
can.  We  have  no  right  to  throw  it  aside  because  we  shall 
find  some  difficult  cases  when  we  come  to  apply  it.  The 
.third  remark  is,  that  no  person  can  tell  how  much  can  be 
done,  till  a  faithful  trial  has  been  made.  If  a  woman  has 
never  kept  any  accounts,  nor  attempted  to  regulate  her 
expenditures  by  the  right  rule,  nor  used  her  influence  with 
those  that  control  her  plans,  to  secure  this  object,  she  has 
no  right  to  say  how  much  she  can  or  can  not  do,  till  after 
a  fair  trial  has  been  made. 

In  attempting  such  a  trial,  the  following  method  can  be 
taken.  Let  a  woman  keep  an  account  of  all  she  spends,  for 
herself  and  her  family,  for  a  year,  arranging  the  items  un- 
der three  general  heads.  Under  the  first,  put  all  articles 
of  food,  raiment,  rent,  wages,  and  all  conveniences.  Under 
the  second,  place  all  sums  paid  in  securing  an  education, 
and  books,  and  other  intellectual  advantages.  Under  the 
third  head,  place  all  that  is  spent  for  benevolence  anc  re- 
ligion. At  the  end  of  the  year,  the  first  and  largest  ac- 
count will  show  the  mixed  items  of  necessaries  and  super- 
fluities, which  can  be  arranged  so  as  to  gain  some  sort  of 
idea  how  much  has  been  spent  for  superfluities  and  how 
much  for  necessaries.  Then,  by  comparing  what  is  spent 


240  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

for  superfluities,  with  what  is  spent  for  intellectual  and 
moral  advantages,  data  will  be  gained  for  judging  of  the 
past  and  regulating  the  future. 

Does  a  woman  say  she  can  not  do  this  ?  let  her  think 
whether  the  offer  of  a  thousand  dollars,  as  a  reward  for  at- 
tempting it  one  year,  would  not  make  her  undertake  to  do 
it ;  and  if  so,  let  her  decide,  in  her  own  mind,  which  is 
most  valuable,  a  clear  conscience,  and  the  approbation  of 
God,  in  this  effort  to  do  his  will,  or  one  thousand  dollars. 
And  let  her  do  it,  with  this  warning  of  the  Saviour  before 
her  eyes — "  No  man  can  serve  two  masters."  "  Ye  can 
not  serve  God  and  Mammon." 

Is  it  objected,  How  can  we  decide  between  superfluities 
and  necessities,  in  this  list  ?  It  is  replied,  that  we  are  not 
required  to  judge  exactly,  in  all  cases.  Our  duty  is,  to  use 
the  means  in  our  power  to  assist  us  in  forming  a  correct 
judgment ;  to  seek  the  divine  aid  in  freeing  our  minds 
from  indolence  and  selfishness ;  and  then  to  judge,  as  well 
as  we  can,  in  our  endeavors  rightly  to  apportion  and  regu- 
late our  expenses.  Many  persons  seem  to  feel  that  they 
are  bound  to  do  better  than  they  know  how.  But  God  is 
not  so  hard  a  master ;  and  after  we  have  used  all  proper 
means  to  learn  the  right  way,  if  we  then  follow  it  accord- 
ing to  our  ability,  we  do  wrong  to  feel  misgivings,  or  to 
blame  ourselves,  if  results  come  out  differently  from  what 
seems  desirable. 

The  results  of  our  actions,  alone,  can  never  prove  us  de- 
serving of  blame.  For  men  are  often  so  placed  that,  owing 
to  lack  of  intellect  or  means,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to 
decide  correctly.  -To  use  all  the  means  of  knowledge  with- 
in our  reach,  and  then  to  judge,  with  a  candid  and  con- 
scientious spirit,  is  all  that  God  requires  ;  and  when  we 
have  done  this,  and  the  event  seems  to  come  out  wrong, 
we  should  never  wish  that  we  had  decided  otherwise.  For 
this  would  be  the  same  as  wishing  that  we  had  not  fol- 
lowed the  dictates  of  judgment  and  conscience.  As  this 


GIVING  IN  CHARITY.  241 

is  a  world  designed  for  discipline  and  trial,  untoward 
events  are  never  to  be  construed  as  indications  of  the  obli- 
quity of  our  past  decisions. 

But  it  is  probable  that  a  great  portion  of  the  women  of 
this  nation  can  not  secure  any  such  systematic  mode  of  re- 
gulating their  expenses.  To  such,  the  writer  would  pro- 
pose one  inquiry :  Can  not  you  calculate  how  much  time 
and  money  you  spend  for  what  is  merely  ornamental,  and 
not  necessary,  for  yourself,  your  children,  and  your  house  ? 
Can  not  you  compare  this  with  the  time  and  money  you 
spend  for  intellectual  and  benevolent  purposes  ?  and  will 
not  this  show  the  need  of  some  change  ?  In  making  this 
examination,  is  not  this  brief  rule,  deducible  from  the 
principles  before  laid  down,  the  one  which  should  regulate 
you  ?  Every  person  does  right  in  spending  some  portion 
of  time  and  means  in  securing  the  conveniences  and  adorn- 
ments of  taste ;  but  the  amount  should  never  exceed  what 
is  spent  in  securing  our  own  moral  and  intellectual  im- 
provement, nor  what-is  spent  in  benevolent  efforts  to  sup- 
ply the  physical  and  moral  wants  of  our  fellow-men. 

In  making  an  examination  on  this  subject,  it  is  some- 
times the  case  that  a  woman  will  count  among  the  neces- 
saries of  life  all  the  various  modes  of  adorning  the  person 
or  house,  practiced  in  the  circle  in  which  she  moves  ;  and, 
after  enumerating  the  many  duties  which  demand  atten- 
tion, counting  these  as  a  part,  she  will  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  she  has  no  time,  and  but  little  money,  to  devote 
to  personal  improvement  or  to  benevolent  enterprises. 
This  surely  is  not  in  agreement  with  the  requirements  of 
the  Saviour,  who  calls  on  us  to  seek  for  others,  as  well  as 
ourselves,  first  of  all,  "  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  right- 
eousness." 

In  order  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  rule  here  pre- 
sented, it  is  true  that  many  would  be  obliged  to  give  up 
the  idea  of  conforming  to  the  notions  and  customs  of  those 
with  whom  they  associate,  and  compelled  to  adopt  the 


242  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN"1  S  HOME. 

maxim,  "  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world."  In  many  cases, 
it  would  involve  an  entire  change  in  the  style  of  living. 
And  the  writer  has  the  happiness  of  knowing  more  cases 
than  one,  where  persons  who  have  come  to  similar  views 
on  this  subject,  have  given  up  large  and  expensive  estab- 
lishments, disposed  of  their  carriages,  dismissed  a  portion 
of  their  domestics,  and  modified  all  their  expenditures, 
that  they  might  keep  a  pure  conscience,  and  regulate  their 
charities  more  according  to  the  requirements  of  Christian- 
ity. And  there  are  persons,  weir  known  in  the  religious 
world,  who  save  themselves  all  labor  of  minute  calculation, 
by  devoting  so  large  a  portion  of  their  time  and  means  to 
benevolent  objects,  that  they  find  no  difficulty  in  knowing 
that  they  give  more  for  religious,  benevolent,  and  intellec- 
tual purposes  than  for  superfluities. 

In  deciding  what  particular  objects  shall  receive  our 
benefactions,  there  are  also  general  principles  to  guide  us. 
The  first  is  that ,  presented  by  our  Saviour,  when,  after 
urging  the  great  law  of  benevolence,  he  was  asked,  "  And 
who  is  my  neighbor  ?"  His  reply,  in  the  parable  of  "  the 
Good  Samaritan,"  teaches  us  that  any  human  being  whose 
wants  are  brought  to  our  knowledge  is  our  neighbor.  The 
wounded  man  in  that  parable  was  not  only  a  stranger,  but 
he  belonged  to  a  foreign  nation,  peculiarly  hated  ;  and  he 
had  no  claim,  except  that  his  wants  were  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  wayfaring  man.  From  this  we  learn 
that  the  destitute  of  all  nations  become  our  neighbors,  as 
soon  as  their  wants  are  brought  to  our  knowledge. 

Another  general  principle  is  this,  that  those  who  are  most 
in  need  must  be  relieved  in  preference  to  those  who  are 
less  destitute.  On  this  principle  it  is,  that  we  think  the 
followers  of  Christ  should  give  more  to  supply  those  who 
are  suffering  for  want  of  the  bread  of  eternal  life,  than  for 
those  who  are  deprived  of  physical  enjoyments.  And  an- 
other reason  for  this  preference  is  the  fact  that  many  who 
give  in  charity  have  made  such  imperfect  advances  in  civil- 


GIVING  IN  CHARITY.  243 

ization  and  Christianity  that  the  intellectual  and  moral 
wants  of  our  race  make  but  a  feeble  impression  on  the  mind. 
Relate  a  pitiful  tale  of  a  family  reduced  to  live  for  weeks 
on  potatoes  only,  and  many  a  mind  would  awake  to  deep 
sympathy  and  stretch  forth  the  hand  of  charity.  But  de- 
scribe cases  where  the  immortal  mind  is  pining  in  stupidity 
and  ignorance,  or  racked  with  the  fever  of  baleful  passions, 
and  how  small  the  number  so  elevated  in  sentiment  and 
so  enlarged  in  their  views  as  to  appreciate  and  sympathize 
in  these  far  greater  misfortunes !  The  intellectual  and 
moral  wants  of  our  fellow-men,  therefore,  should  claim  the 
first  place  in  general  Christian  attention,  both  because  they 
are  most  important,  and  because  they  are  most  neglected ; 
while  it  should  not  be  forgotten,  in  giving  personal  atten- 
tion to  the  wants  of  the  poor,  that  the  relief  of  immediate 
physical  distress,  is  often  the  easiest  way  of  touching  the 
moral  sensibilities  of  the  destitute. 

Another  consideration  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that,  in 
this  country,  there  is  much  less  real  need  of  charity  in 
supplying  physical  necessities  than  is  generally  supposed 
by  those  who  have  not  learned  the  more  excellent  way. 
This  land  is  so  abundant  in  supplies,  and  labor  is  in  such 
demand,  that  every  healthy  person  can  earn  a  comfortable 
support.  And  if  all  the  poor  were  instantly  made  virtuous, 
it  is  probable  that  there  would  be  few  physical  wants 
which  could  not  readily  be  supplied  by  the  immediate 
friends  of  each  sufferer.  The  sick,  the  aged,  and  the  orphan 
would  be  the  only  objects  of  charity.  In  this  view  of  the 
case,  the  primary  effort  in  relieving  the  poor  should  be  to 
furnish  them  the  means  of  earning  their  own  support,  and 
to  supply  them  with  those  moral  influences  which  are  most 
effectual  in  securing  virtue  and  industry. 

Another  point  to  be  attended  to  is  the  importance  of 
maintaining  a  system  of  associated  charities.  There  is  no 
point  in  which  the  economy  of  charity  has  more  improved 
than  in  the  present  mode  of  combining  many  small  contri- 


244  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

butions,  for  sustaining  enlarged  and  systematic  plans  of 
charity.-  If  all  the  lialf-dollars  which  are  now  contributed 
to  aid  in  organized  systems  of  charity  were  returned  to  the 
donors,  to  be  applied  by  the  agency  and  discretion  of  each, 
thousands  and  thousands  of  the  treasures,  now  employed  to 
promote  the  moral  and  intellectual  wants  of  mankind, 
would  become  entirely  useless.  In  a  democracy  like  ours, 
where  few  are  very  rich  and  the  majority  are  in  comfort- 
able circumstances,  this  collecting  and  dispensing  of  drops 
and  rills  is  the  mode  by  which,  in  imitation  of  nature, 
the  dews  and  showers  are  to  distill  on  parched  and  desert 
lands.  And  every  person,  while  earning  a  pittance  to  unite 
with  many  more,  may  be  cheered  with  the  consciousness  of 
sustaining  a  grand  system  of  operations  which  must  have 
the  most  decided  influence  in  raising  all  mankind  to  that 
perfect  state  of  society  which  Christianity  is  designed  to 
bring  about. 

Another  consideration  relates  to  the  indiscriminate  be- 
stowal of  charity.  Persons  who  have  taken  pains  to  inform 
themselves,  and  who  devote  their  whole  time  to  dispensing 
charities,  unite  in  declaring  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  fruit- 
ful sources  of  indolence,  vice,  and  poverty.  From  several 
of  these  the  writer  has  learned  that,  by  their  own  personal 
investigations,  they  have  ascertained  that  there  are  large 
establishments  of  idle  and  wicked  persons  in  most  of  our 
cities,  who  associate  together  to  support  themselves  by 
every  species  of  imposition.  They  hire  large  houses,  and 
live  in  constant  rioting  on  the  means  thus  obtained.  Among 
them  are  women  who  have  or  who  hire  the  use  of  infant 
children  ;  others,  who  ar-e  blind,  or  maimed,  or  deformed,  or 
who  can  adroitly  "  feign  such  infirmities ;  and,  by  these 
means  of  exciting  pity,  and  by  artful  tales  of  woe',  they  col- 
lect alms,  both  in  city  and  country,  to  spend  in  all  manner 
of  gross  and  guilty  indulgences.  Meantime  many  persons, 
finding  themselves  often  duped  by  impostors,  refuse  to  give 
at  all ;  and  thus  many  benefactions  are  withdrawn,  which 


GIVING  IN  CHARITY.  245 

a  wise  economy  in  charity  would  have  secured.  For  this 
and  other  reasons,  it  is  wise  and  merciful  to  adopt  the  gen- 
eral rule,  never  to  give  alms  till  we  have  had  some  oppor- 
tunity of  knowing  how  they  will  be  spent.  There  are  ex- 
ceptions to  this,  as  to  every  general  rule,  which  a  person 
of  discretion  can  determine.  But  the  practice  so  common 
among  benevolent  persons,tof  giving  at  least  a  trifle  to  all 
who  ask,  lest  perchance  they  may  turn  away  some  who  are 
really  sufferers,  is  one  which  causes  more  sin  and  misery 
than  it  cures. 

The  writer  has  never  known  any  system  for  dispensing 
charity  so  successful  as  the  one  by  which  a  town  or  city  is 
divided  into  districts  ;  and  each  district  is  committed  to  the 
care  of  two  ladies,  whose  duty  it  is,  to  call  on  each  family 
and  leave  a  book  for  a  child,  or  do  some  other  deed  of  neigh- 
borly kindness,  and  make  that  the  occasion  for  entering  into 
conversation,  and  learning  the  situation  of  all  residents  in 
the  district.  By  this  method,  the  ignorant,  the  vicious,  and 
the  poor  are  discovered,  and  their  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  wants  are  investigated.  In  some  places  where  the 
writer  has  known  this  mode  pursued,  each  person  retained 
the  same  district,  year  after  year,  so  that  every  poor  family  in 
the  place  was  under  the  watch  and  care  of  some  intelligent 
and  benevolent  lady,  who  used  all  her  influence  to  secure  a 
proper  education  for  the  children,  to  furnish  them  with  suit- 
able reading,  to  encourage  habits  of  industry  and  economy, 
and  to  secure  regular  attendance  on  public  religious  in- 
struction. Thus,  the  rich  and  the  poor  were  brought  in 
contact,  in  a  way  advantageous  to  both  parties  ;  and  if  such 
a  system  could  be  universally  adopted,  more  would  be  done 
for  the  prevention  of  poverty  and  vice  than  all  the  wealth 
of  the  nation  could  avail  for  their  relief.  But  this  plan  can 
not  be  successfully  carried  out,  in  this  manner,  unless  there 
is  a  large  proportion  of  intelligent,  benevolent,  and  self- 
denying  persons,  who  unite  in  a  systematic  plan. 

But  there  is  one  species  of  "  charity  "  which  needs  espe- 


246  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

cial  consideration.  It  is  that  spirit  of  kindly  love  which 
induces  us  to  refrain  from  judging  of  the  means  and  the  rela- 
tive charities  of  other  persons.  There  have  been  such  in- 
distinct notions,  and  so  many  different  standards  of  duty, 
on  this  subject,  that  it  is  rare  for  two  persons  to  think  ex- 
actly alike,  in  regard  to  the  rule  of'  duty.  Each  person  is 
bound  to  inquire  and  judge  forjiimself,  as  to  his  own  duty 
or  deficiencies ;  but  as  both  the  resources  and  the  amount  of 
the  actual  charities  of  others  are  beyond  our  ken,  it  is  as 
indecorous  as  it  is  uncharitable  to  sit  in  judgment  on  their 
decisions. 


XIX. 

ECONOMY   OF   TIME   AND   EXPENSES. 

THE  value  of  time,  and  our  obligation  to  spend  every  hour 
for  some  useful  end,  are  what  few  minds  properly  realize. 
And  those  who  have  the  highest  sense  of  their  obligations 
in  this  respect,  sometimes  greatly  misjudge  in  their  estimate 
of  what  are  useful  and  proper  modes  of  employing  time. 
This  arises  from  limited  views  of  the  importance  of  some 
pursuits,  which  they  would  deem  frivolous  and  useless,  but 
which  are  in  reality  necessary  to  preserve  the  health  of  body 
and  mind  and  those  social  affections  which  it  is  very  im- 
portant to  cherish. 

Christianity  teaches  that,  for  all  the  time  afforded  us,  we 
must  give  account  to  God ;  and  that  we  have  no  right  to 
waste  a  single  hour.  But  time  which  is  spent  in  rest  or 
amusement  is  often  as  usefully  employed  as  if  it  were  de- 
voted to  labor  or  devotion.  In  employing  our  time,  we  are 
to  make  suitable  allowance  for  sleep,  for  preparing  and  tak- 
ing food,  for  securing  the  means  of  a  livelihood,  for  intel- 
lectual improvement,  for  exercise  and  amusement,  for  social 
enjoyments,  and  for  benevolent  and  religious  duties.  And 
it  is  the  right  apportionment  of  time,  to  these  various  duties, 
which  constitutes  its  true  economy. 

In  deciding  respecting  the  rectitude  of  our  pursuits,  we  are 
bound  to  aim  at  some  practical  good,  as  the  ultimate  object. 
"With  every  duty  of  this  life,  our  benevolent  Creator  has 
connected  some  species  of  enjoyment,  to  draw  us  to  perform 
it.  Thus,  the  palate  is  gratified,  by  performing  the  duty  of 


248  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

nourishing  our  bodies  ;  the  principle  of  curiosity  is  gratified 
in  pursuing  useful  knowledge  ;  the  desire  of  approbation  is 
gratified,  when  we  perform  general  social  duties  ;  and  every 
other  duty  has  an  alluring  enjoyment  connected  with  it. 
But  the  great  mistake  of  mankind  has  consisted  in  seeking 
the  pleasures  connected  with  these  duties,  as  the  sole  aim, 
without  reference  to  the  main  end  that  should  be  held  in 
view,  and  to  which  the  enjoyment  should  be  made  subser- 
vient. Thus,  men  gratify  the  palate,  without  reference  to 
the  question  whether  the  body  is  properly  nourished  :  and 
follow  after  knowledge,  without  inquiring  whether  it  min- 
isters to  good  or  evil ;  and  seek  amusement  without  refer- 
ence to  results. 

In  gratifying  the  implanted  desires  of  our  nature,  we  are 
bound  so  to  restrain  ourselves,  by  reason  and  conscience,  as 
always  to  seek  the  main  objects  of  existence — the  highest 
good  of  ourselves  and  others  ;  and  never  to  sacrifice  this  for 
the  mere  gratification  of  our  desires.  We  are  to  gratify  appe- 
tite, just  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  health  and  usefulness  ; 
and  the  desire  for  knowledge,  just  so  far  as  wil]  enable  us 
to  do  most  good  by  our  influence  and  efforts  ;  and  no  farther. 
We  are  to  seek  social  intercourse,  to  that  extent  which  will 
best  promote  domestic  enjoyment  and  kindly  feelings  among 
neighbors  and  friends ;  and  we  are  to  pursue  exercise  and 
amusement,  only  so  far  as  will  best  sustain  the  vigor  of  body 
and  mind. 

The  laws  of  the  Supreme  Ruler,  when  he  became  the 
civil  as  well  as  the  religious  Head  of  the  Jewish  theocracy, 
furnish  an  example  which  it  would  be  well  for  all  atten- 
tively to  consider,  when  forming  plans  for  the  apportion- 
ment of  time  and  property.  To  properly  estimate  this  ex- 
ample, it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  main  object  of 
God  was,  to  set  an  example  of  the  temporal  rewards  that 
follow  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  Creator,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  prepare  religious  teachers  to  extend  the  true 
religion  to  the  whole  race  of  man. 


ECONOMY  OF  TIME  AND  EXPENSES.  249 

Before  .Christ  came,  the  Jews  were  not  required  to  go 
forth  to  other  nations  as  teachers  of  religion,  nor  were  the 
Jewish  nation  led  to  obedience  by  motives  of  a  life  to 
come.  To  them  God  was  revealed,  both  as  a  father  and  a 
civil  ruler,  and  obedience  to  laws  relating  solely  to  this 
life  was  all  that  was  required.  So  low  were  they  in'  the 
scale  of  civilization  and  mental  development,  that  a  sys- 
tem which  confined  them  to  one  spot,  as  an  agricultural 
people,  and  prevented  their  growing  very  rich,  or  having 
extensive  commerce  with  other  nations,  was  indispensable 
to  prevent  their  relapsing  into  the  low  idolatries  and  vices 
of  the  nations  around  them,  while  temporal  rewards  and 
penalties  were  more  effective  than  those  of  a  life  to 
come. 

The  proportion  of  time  and  property,  which  every  Jew 
was  required  to  devote  to  intellectual,  benevolent,  and  re- 
ligious purposes,  was  as  follows  : 

In  regard  to  property,  they  were  required  to  give  one 
tenth  of  all  their  yearly  income  to  support  the  Levites,  the 
priests,  and  the  religious  service.  Next,  they  were  required 
to  give  the  first-fruits  of  all  their  corn,  wine,  oil,  and  fruits, 
and  the  first-born  of  all  their  cattle,  for  the  Lord's  treasury, 
to  be  employed  for  the  priests,  the  widow,  the  fatherless, 
and  the  stranger.  The  first-born,  also,  of  their  children, 
were  the  Lord's,  and  were  to  be  redeemed  by  a  specified 
sum,  pajd  into  the  sacred  treasury:  Besides  this,  they  were 
required  to  bring  a  free-will  offering  to  God,  every  time  they 
went  up  to  the  three  great  yearly  festivals.  In  addition  to  this, 
regular  yearly  sacrifices  of  cattle  and  fowls  were  required 
of  each  family,  and  occasional  sacrifices  for  certain  sins  or 
ceremonial  impurities.  In  reaping  their  fields,  they  were 
required  to  leave  unreaped,  for  the  poor,  the  corners ;  not 
to  glean  their  fields,  oliveyards,  or  vineyards ;  and,  if  a 
sheaf  was  left  by  mistake,  they  were  not  to  return  for  it 
but  leave  it  for  the  poor. 

One  twelfth  of  the  people  were  set  apart,  having  no  land 


250 

ed   property,  to  be  priests  and  teachers;    and  the  other 
tribes  were  required  to  support  them  liberally. 

In  regard  to  the  time  taken  from  secular  pursuits,  fbr  the 
support  of  education  and  religion,  an  equally  liberal 
amount  was  demanded.  In  the  first  place,  one  seventh 
part  of  their  time  was  taken  for  the  weekly  sabbath,  when 
no  kind  of  work  was  to  be  done.  Then  the  whole  nation 
were  required  to  meet  at  the  appointed  place  three  times 
a  year,  which,  including  their  journeys  and  stay  there,  oc- 
cupied eight  weeks,  or  another  seventh  part  of  their  time. 
Then  the  sabbatical  year,  when  no  agricultural  labor  was 
to  be  done,  took  another  seventh  of  their  time  from  their 
regular  pursuits,  as  they  were  an  agricultural  people.  This 
was  the  amount  of  time  and  property  demanded  by  God, 
simply  to  sustain  education,  religion,  and  morality  within 
the  bounds  of  one  nation. 

It  was  promised  to  this  nation  and  fulfilled  by  constant 
miraculous  interpositions,  that  in  this  life,  obedience 
to  God's  laws  should  secure  health,  peace,  prosperity, 
and  long  life ;  while  for  disobedience  was  threatened  war, 
pestilence,  famine,  and  all  temporal  evils.  These  promises 
were  constantly  verified,  and  in  the  day  of  Solomon,  when 
this  nation  was  most  obedient,  the  whole  world  was  moved 
with  wonder  at  its  wealth  and  prosperity.  But  up  to  this 
time,  no  attempt  was  made  by  God  to  govern  the  Israelites 
by  the  rewards  and  penalties  of  the  world  to  come.. 

But  "  when  the  fullness  of  time  had  come,"  and  the  race 
of  man  was  prepared  to  receive  higher  responsibilities, 
Jesus  Christ  came  and  "  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light "  with  a  clearness  never  before  revealed.  At  the 
same  time  was  revealed  the  fatherhood  of  God,  not  to  the  Jews 
alone,  but  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  the  consequent 
brotherhood  of  man  ;  and  these  revelations  in  many  respects 
changed  the  whole  standard  of  duty  and  obligation. 

Christ  came  as  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  to  set  an 
example   of   self-sacrificing  love,   in    rescuing   the  whole 


ECONOMY  OF  TIME  AND  EXPENSES.  251 

family  of  man  from  the  dangers  of  the  unseen  world,  and 
also  to  teach  and  train  his  disciples  through  all  time  to  fol- 
low his  example.  And  those  who  conform  the  most  consis- 
tently to  his  teachings  and  example  will  aim  at  a  standard 
of  labor  and  self-denial  far  beyond  that  demanded  of  the 
Jews. 

It  is  not  always  that  men  understand  the  economy  of 
Providence,  in  that  unequal  distribution  of  property  which, 
even  under  the  most  perfect  form  of  government,  will  always 
exist.  Many,  looking  at  the  present  state  of  things,  ima- 
gine that  the  rich,  if  they  acted  in  strict  conformity  to  the 
law  of  benevolence,  would  share  all  their  property  with  their 
suffering  fellow-men.  But  such  do  not  take  into  account  the 
inspired  declaration  that  "  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the 
abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth,"  or,  in  other 
words,  life  is  made  valuable,  not  by  great  possessions,  but 
by  such  a  character  as  prepares  a  man  to  enjoy  what  he 
holds.  God  perceives  that  human  character  can  be  most 
improved  by  that  kind  of  discipline  which  exists  when  there 
is  something  valuable  to  be  gained  by  industrious  efforts. 
This  stimulus  to  industry  could  never  exist  in  a  communi- 
ty where  all  are  just  alike,  as  it  does  in  a  state  of  society 
where  every  man  sees  possessed  by  others  enjoyments 
which  he  desires  and  may  secure  by  effort  and  industry. 
So,  in  a  community  where  all  are  alike  as  to  property, 
there  would  be  no  chance  to  gain  that  noblest  of  all  attain- 
ments, a  habit  of  self-denying  benevolence  which  toils  for  the 
good  of  others,  and  takes  from  one's  own  store  to  increase 
the  enjoyments  of  another. 

Instead,  then,  of  the  stagnation,  both  of  industry  and  of 
benevolence,  which  would  follow  the  universal  and  equable 
distribution  of  property,  some  men,  by  superior  ad- 
vantages of  birth,  or  intellect,  or  patronage,  come  into  pos- 
session of  a  great  amount  of  capital.  "With  these  means 
they  are  enabled,  by  study,  reading,  and  travel,  to  secure 
expansion  of  mind  and  just  views  of  the  relative  advantages 


252  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN"*  S  HOME. 

of  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical  enjoyments.  At  the 
same  time,  Christianity  imposes  obligations  corresponding 
with  the  increase  of  advantages  and  means.  The  rich  are 
not  at  liberty  to  spend  their  treasures  chiefly  for  themselves. 
Their  wealth  is  given,  by  God,  to  be  employed  for  the  best 
good  of  mankind  ;  and  their  intellectual  advantages  are  de- 
signed, primarily,  to  enable  them  to  judge  correctly  in  em- 
ploying their  means  most  wisely  for  the  general  good. 

Now,  suppose  a  man  of  wealth  inherits  ten  thousand 
acres  of  real  estate ;  it  is  not  his  duty  to  divide  it  among 
his  poor  neighbors  and  tenants.  If  he  took  this  course, 
it  is  probable  that  most  of  them  would  spend  all  in  thrift- 
less waste  and  indolence,  or  in  mere  physical  enjoyments. 
Instead,  then,  of  thus  putting  his  capital  out  of  his  hands, 
he  is  bound  to  retain  and  so  to  employ  it  as  to  raise  his 
family  and  his  neighbors  to  such  a  state  of  virtue  and  in- 
telligence that  they  can  secure  far  more,  by  their  own  ef- 
forts and  industry,  than  he,  by  dividing  his  capital,  could 
bestow  upon  them. 

In  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  manifest  that  the  unequal 
distribution  of  property  is  no  evil.  The  great  difficulty  is, 
that  so  large  a  portion  of  those  who  hold  much  capital,  in- 
stead of  using  their  various  advantages  for  the  greatest 
good  of  those  around  them,  employ  them  for  mere  selfish 
indulgences ;  thus  inflicting  as  much  mischief  on  themselves 
as  results  to  others  from  their  culpable  neglect.  A  great 
portion  of  the  rich  seem  to  be  acting  on  the  principle 
that  the  more  God  bestows  on  them  the  less  are  they  under 
obligation  to  practice  any  self-denial  in  fulfilling  his  benevo- 
lent plan  of  raising  our  race  to  intelligence  and  virtue. 

But  there  are  cheering  examples  of  the  contrary  spirit 
and  prejudice,  some  of  which  will  be  here  recorded  to  in- 
fluence and  encourage  others. 

A  lady  of  great  wealth,  high  position,  and  elegant 
culture,  in  one  of  our  large  cities,  hired  and  furnished  a 
house  adjacent  to  her  own,  and,  securing  the  aid  of  another 


ECONOMY  OF  TIME  AND   EXPENSES.  253 

benevolent  and  cultivated  woman,  took  twelve  orphan  girls, 
of  different  ages,  and  educated  them  under  their  joint  care. 
Not  only  time  and  money  were  given,  but  love  and  labor, 
just  as  if  these  were  their  own  children ;  and  as  fast  as  one 
was  provided  for,  another  was  taken. 

In  another  city,  a  young  lady  with  property  of  her  own 
hired  a  house  and  made  it  a  home  for  homeless  and  unpro- 
tected women,  who  paid  board  when  they  could  earn  it,  and 
found  a  refuge  when  out  of  employment. 

In  another  city,  the  wife  of  one  of  its  richest  merchants, 
living  in  princely  style,  took  two  young  girls  from  the  cer- 
tain road  to  ruin  among  the  vicious  poor.  She  boarded 
them  with  a  respectable  farmer,  and  sent  them  to  school, 
and  every  week  went  out,  not  only  to  supervise  them,  but 
to  aid  in  training  them  to  habits  of  neatness,  industry,  and 
obedience,  just  as  if  they  were  her  own  children.  Next, 
she  hired  a  large  house  near  the  most  degraded  part  of 
the  city,  furnished  it  neatly  and  with  all  suitable  conveni- 
ences to*  work,  and  then  rented  to  those  among  the  most 
degraded  whom  she  could  bring  to  conform  to  a  few  simple 
rules  of  decency,  industry,  and  benevolence — one  of  these 
rules  being  that  they  should  pay  her  the  rent  every  Satur- 
day night.  To  this  motley  gathering  she  became  chief 
counselor  and  friend,  quieted  their  brawls,  taught  them  to 
aid  each  other  in  trouble  or  sickness,  and  strove  to  introduce 
among  them  that  law  of  patient  love  and  kindness,  illustra- 
ted by  her  own  example.  The  young  girls  in  this  tenement 
she  assembled  every  Saturday  at  her  own  house — taught 
them  to  sing,  heard  them  recite  their  Sunday-school  lessons, 
to  be  sure  these  were  properly  learned ;  taught  them  to  make 
and  mend  their  own  clothing,  trimmed  their  bonnets,  and 
took  charge  of  their  Sunday  dress,  that  it  might  always 
be  in  order.  Of  course,  such  benevolence  drew  a  stream  of 
ignorance  and  misery  to  her  door ;  and  so  successful  wai 
her  labor  that  she  hired  a  second  house,  and  managed  it  on 
the  same  plan.  One  hot  day  in  August,  a  friend  found  hei 


254  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

combing  the  head  of  a  poor,  ungainly,  foreign  girl.  She  had 
persuaded  a  friend  to  take  her  from  compassion,  and  she 
was  returned  because  her  head  was  in  such  in  a  state. 
Finding  no  one  else  to  do  it,  the  lady  herself  bravely  met 
the  difficulty,  and  persevered  in  this  daily  ministry  till  the 
evil  w-as  remedied,  and  the  poor  girl  thus  secured  a  comfor- 
table home  and  wages. 

A  young  lady  of  wealth  and  position,  with  great  musical 
culture  and  taste,  found  among  the  poor  two  young  girls 
with  fine  voices  and  great  musical  talent.  Gaining  her  pa- 
rents' consent,  the  young  lady  took  one  of  them  home,  trained 
her  in  music,  and  saw  that  her  school  education  was  secured, 
so  that  when  expensive  masters  and  instruments  were  need- 
ed the  girl  herself  earned  the  money  required,  as  a  gover- 
ness in  a  family  of  wealthy  friends.  Then  she  aided  the 
sister ;  and,  as  the  result,  one  of  them  is  married  happily 
to  a  man  of  great  wealth,  and  the  other  is  receiving  a  large 
income  as  a  popular  musical  artist. 

Another  young  girl,  educated  as  a  fine  musician  by  her 
wealthy  parents,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  afflicted  with 
weak  eyes  and  a  heart  complaint.  She  strove  to  solace  her- 
self by  benevolent  ministries.  By  teaching  music  to  chil- 
dren of  wealthy  friends  she  earned  the  means  to  relieve  and 
instruct  the  suffering,  ignorant,  and  poor. 

These  examples  may  suffice  to  show  that,  even  among  the 
most  wealthy,  abundant  modes  of  self-denying  benevolence 
may  be  found  where  there  is  a  heart  to  seek  them. 

There  is  no  direction  in  which  a  true  Christian  economy 
of  time  and  money  is  more  conspicuous  than  in  the  style 
of  living  adopted- in  the  family  state. 

Those  who  build  stately  mansions,  and  lay  out  extensive 
grounds,  and  multiply  the  elegancies  of  life,  to  be  enjoyed 
by  themselves  and  a  select  few,  "  have  their  reward"  in  the 
enjoyments  that  end  in  this  life.  But  those  who  with 
equal  means  adopt  a  style  that  enables  them  largely  to  devote 
time  and  wealth  to  the  elevation  and  improvement  of  their 
fellow-men,  are  laying  up  never-failing  treasures  in  heaven. 


XX. 

HEALTH  OF  MIND. 

THEKE  is  such  an  intimate  connection  between  the  body 
and  mind  that  the  health  of  one  can  not  be  preserved  with- 
out a  proper  care  of  the  other.  And  it  is  from  a  neglect  of 
this  principle,  that  some  of  the  most  exemplary  and  con- 
scientious persons  in  the  world  suffer  a  thousand  mental 
agonies  from  a  diseased  state  of  body,  while  others  ruin  the 
health  of  the  body  by  neglecting  the  proper  care  of  the 
mind. 

When  the  mind  is  excited  by  earnest  intellectual  effort,  or 
by  strong  passions,  the  blood  rushes  to  the  head  and  the 
brain  is  excited.  Sir  Astley  Cooper  records  that,  in  exam- 
ining the  brain  of  a  young  man  who  had  lost  a  portion  of 
his  skull,  whenever  "  he  was  agitated  by  some  opposition 
to  his  wishes,"  "  the  blood  was  sent  with  increased  force  to 
his  brain,"  and  the  pulsations  "  became  frequent  and  vio- 
lent." The  same  effect  was  produced  by  any  intellectual  ef- 
fort ;  and  the  flushed  countenance  which  attends  earnest 
study  or  strong  emotions  of  interest  of  any  kind,  is  an  ex- 
ternal indication  of  the  suffused  state  of  the  brain  from 
such  causes. 

In  exhibiting  the  causes  which  injure  the  health  of  the 
mind,  we  shall  find  them  to  be  partly  physical,  partly  intel- 
lectual, and  partly  moral. 

The  first  cause  of  mental  disease  and  suffering  is  not  un- 
frequently  in  the  want  of  a  proper  supply  of  duly  oxygen- 
ized blood.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  blood,  in  passing 
through  the  lungs,  is  purified  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air  com- 


256  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

bining  with  the  superabundant  hydrogen  and  carbon  of  the 
venous  blood,  thus  forming  carbonic  acid  and  water,  which 
are  expired  into  the  atmosphere.  Every  pair  of  lungs  is 
constantly  withdrawing  from  the  surrounding  atmosphere 
its  heathful  principle,  and  returning  one  which  is  injurious 
to  human  life. 

When,  by  confinement  and  this  process,  the  air  is  depriv- 
ed of  its  appropriate  supply  of  oxygen,  the  purification  of  the 
blood  is  interrupted,  and  it  passes  without  being  properly 
prepared  into  the  brain,  producing  languor,  restlessness,  and 
inability  to  exercise  the  intellect  and  feelings.  Whenever, 
therefore,  persons  sleep  in  a  close  apartment,  or  remain  for 
a  length  of  time  in  a  crowded  or  ill-ventilated  room,  a  most 
pernicious  influence  is  exerted  on  the  brain,  and,  through 
this,  on  the  mind.  A  person  who  is  often  exposed  to  such 
influences  can  never  enjoy  that  elasticity  and  vigor  of  mind 
which  is  one  of  the  chief  indications  of  its  health.  This  is 
the  reason  why  all  rooms  for  religious  meetings,  and  all 
school-rooms  and  sleeping  apartments  should  be  so  contrived 
as  to  secure  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  air  from  without. 
The  minister  who  preaches  in  a  crowded  and  ill-ventilated 
apartment  loses  much  of  his  power  to  feel  and  to  speak, 
while  the  audience  are  equally  reduced  in  their  capability  of 
attending.  The  teacher  who  confines  children  in  a  close 
apartment  diminishes  their  ability  to  study,  or  to  attend  to 
instructions.  And  the  person  who  habitually  sleeps  in  a 
close  room  impairs  mental  energy  in  a  similar  degree.  It  is 
not  unf requently  the  case  that  depression  of  spirits  and 
stupor  of  intellect  are  occasioned  solely  by  inattention  to 
this  subject. 

Another  cause  of  mental  disease  is  the  excessive  exer- 
cise of  the  intellect  or  feelings.  If  the  eye  is  taxed  beyond 
its  strength  by  protracted  use,  its  blood-vessels  become 
gorged,  and  the  bloodshot  appearance  warns  of  the  excess 
and  the  need  of  rest.  The  brain  is  affected  in  a  similar 
manner  by  excessive  use,  though  the  suffering  and  inflamed 


HEALTH  OF  MIND.  257 

organ  can  not  make  its  appeal  to  the  eye.  But  there  are 
some  indications  which  ought  never  to  be  misunderstood 
or  disregarded.  In  cases  of  pupils  at  school  or  at  college, 
a  diseased  state,  from  over-action,  is  often  manifested  by 
increased  clearness  of  mind,  and  temporary  ease  and  vigor 
of  mental  action.  In  one  instance,  known  to  the  writer,  a 
most  exemplary  and  industrious  pupil,  anxious  to  improve 
every  hour  and  ignorant  or  unmindful  of  the  laws  of 
health,  first  manifested  the  diseased  state  of  her  brain  and 
mind  by  demands  for  more  studies,  and  a  sudden  and  earn- 
est activity  in  planning  modes  of  improvement  for  herself 
and  others.  When  warned  of  her  danger,  she  protested 
that  she  never  was  better  in  her  life ;  that  she  took  re- 
gular exercise  in  the  open  air,  went  to  bed  in  season,  slept 
soundly,  and  felt  perfectly  well ;  that  her  mind  was  never 
before  so  bright  and  clear,  and  study  never  so  easy  and 
delightful.  And  at  this  time,  she  was  on  the  verge  of 
derangement,  from  which  she  was  saved  only  by  an  en- 
tire cessation  of  all  intellectual  efforts. 

A  similar  case  occurred,  under  the  eye  of  the  writer, 
from  over-excited  feelings.  It  was  during  a  time  of  un- 
usual religious  interest  in  the  community,  and  the  mental 
disease  was  first  manifested  by  the  pupil  bringing  her 
hymn-book  or  Bible  to  the  class-room,  and  making  it  her 
constant  resort,  in  every  interval  of  school  duty.  It  finally 
became  impossible  to  convince  her  that  it  was  her  duty  to 
attend  to  any  thing  else  ;  her  conscience  became  morbidly 
sensitive,  her  perceptions  indistinct,  her  deductions  un- 
reasonable ;  and  nothing  but  entire  change  of  scene  and 
exercise,  and  occupation  of  her  mind  by  amusement,  saved 
her.  When  the  health  of  the  brain  was  restored,  she 
found  that  she  could  attend  to  the  "one  thing  needful," 
not  only  without  interruption  of  duty  or  injury  to  health, 
but  rather  so  as  to  promote  both.  Clergymen  and  teachers 
need  most  carefully  to  notice  and  guard  against  the  dan- 
gers here  alluded  to. 


258  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Any  such  attention  to  religion  as  prevents  the  perform- 
ance of  daily  duties  and  needful  relaxation  is  dangerous, 
and  tends  to  produce  such  a  state  of  the  brain  as  makes 
it  impossible  to  feel  or  judge  correctly.  And  when  any 
morbid  and  unreasonable  pertinacity  appears,  much  exer- 
cise and  engagement  in  other  interesting  pursuits  should 
be  urged,  as  the  only  mode  of  securing  the  religious  bene- 
fits aimed  at.  And  whenever  any  mind  is  oppressed  with 
care,  anxiety,  or  sorrow,  the  amount  of  active  exercise  in 
the  fresh  air  should  be  greatly  increased,  that  the  action 
of  the  muscles  may  withdraw  the  blood  which,  in  such 
seasons,  is  constantly  tending  too  much  to  the  brain. 

There  has  been  a  most  appalling  amount  of  suffering, 
derangement,  disease,  and  death,  occasioned  by  a  want  of 
attention  to  this  subject,  in  teachers  and  parents.  Un- 
common precocity  in  children  is  usually  the  result  of  an 
unhealthy  state  of  the  brain ;  and  in  such  cases  medical 
men  would  now  direct  that  the  wonderful  child  should  be 
deprived  of  all  books  and  study,  and  turned  to"  play  out  in 
the  fresh  air.  Instead  of  this,  parents  frequently  add  fuel 
to  the  fever  of  the  brain,  by  supplying  constant  mental 
stimulus,  until  the  victim  finds  refuge  in  idiocy  or  an  early 
grave.  Where  such  fatal  results  do  not  occur,  the  brain 
in  many  cases  is  so  weakened  that  the  prodigy  of  infancy 
sinks  below  the  medium  of  intellectual  powers  in  after- 
life. 

In  our  colleges,  too,  many  of  .the  most  promising  minds 
sink  to  an  early  grave,  or  drag  out  a  miserable  existence, 
from  this  same  cause.  And  it  is  an  evil  as  yet  little  alle- 
viated by  the  increase  of  physiological  knowledge.  Every 
college  and  professional  school,  and  every  seminary  for 
young  ladies,  needs  a  medical  man  or  woman,  not  only  to 
lecture  on  physiology  and  the  laws  of  health,  but  empow- 
ered by  official  capacity  to  investigate  the  case  of  every 
pupil,  and,  by  authority,  to  enforce  such  a  course  of 
study,  exercise  and  repose,  as  the  physical  system  requires. 


HEALTH  OF  MIND.  259 

The  writer  has  found  by  experience  that  in  a  large  institu- 
tion there  is  one  class  of  pupils  who  need  to  be  restrained 
by  penalties  from  late  hours  and  excessive  study,  as  much 
as  another  class  need  stimulus  to  industry. 

Under  the  head  of  excessive  mental  action,  must  be 
placed  the  indulgence  of  the  imagination  in  novel-reading 
and  "  castle-building."  This  kind  of  stimulus,  unless  coun- 
terbalanced by  physical  exercise,  not  only  wastes  time  and 
energies,  but  undermines  the  vigor  of  the  nervous  system. 
The  imagination  was  designed  by  our  wise  Creator  as  a 
charm  and  stimulus  to  animate  to  benevolent  activity; 
and  its  perverted  exercise  seldom  fails  to  bring  a  penalty. 

Another  cause  of  mental  disease  is  the  want  of  the  ap- 
propriate exercise  of  the  various  faculties  of  the  mind.  On 
this  point,  Dr.  Combe  remarks :  "  We  have  seen  that,  by 
disuse,  muscles  become  emaciated,  bone  softens,  blood-ves- 
sels are  obliterated,  and  nerves  lose  their  characteristic 
structure.  The  brain  is  no  exception  to  this  general  rule. 
The  tone  of  it.  is  also  impaired  by  permanent  inactivity, 
and  it  becomes  less  fit  to  manifest  the  mental  powers  with 
readiness  and  energy."  It  is  "  the  withdrawal  of  the 
stimulus  necessary  for  its  healthy  exercise  which  renders 
solitary  confinement  so  severe  a  punishment,  even  to  the 
most  daring  minds.  It  is  a  lower  degree  of  the  same  cause 
which  renders  continuous  seclusion  from  society  so  inju- 
rious to  both  mental  and  bodily  health." 

"  Inactivity  of  intellect  and  of  feeling  is  a  very  frequent 
predisposing  cause  of  every  form  of  nervous  disease.  For 
demonstrative  evidence  of  this  position,  we  have  only  to 
look  at  the  numerous  victims  to  be  found  among  persons 
who  have  no  call  to  exertion  in  gaining  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence, and  no  objects  of  interest  on  which  to  exercise 
their  mental  faculties,  and  who  consequently  sink  into 
a  state  of  mental  sloth  and  nervous  weakness."  "  If  we 
look  abroad  upon  society,  we  shall  find  innumerable  exam- 
ples of  mental  and  nervous  debility  from  this  cause.  When 


260  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

a  person  of  some  mental  capacity  is  confined  for  a  long 
time  to  an  unvarying  round  of  employment  which  affords 
neither  scope  nor  stimulus  for  one  half  of  the  faculties,  and, 
from  want  of  education  or  society,  has  no  external  re- 
sources ;  the  mental  powers,  for  want  of  exercise,  become 
blunted,  and  the  perceptions  slow  and  dull."  "  The  intel- 
lect and  feelings,  not  being  provided  with  interests  external 
to  themselves,  must  either  become  inactive  and  weak,  or 
work  upon  themselves  and  become  diseased." 

"  The  most  frequent  victims  of  this  kind  of  predisposi- 
tion are  females  of  the  middle  and  higher  ranks,  especially 
those  of  a  nervous  constitution  and  good  natural  abilities ; 
but  who,  from  an  ill-directed  education,  possess  nothing 
more  solid  than  mere  accomplishments,  and  have  no  ma- 
terials for  thought,"  and  no  "  occupation  to  excite  interest 
or  demand  attention."  "  The  liability  of  such  persons  to 
melancholy,  hysteria,  hypochondriasis,  and  other  varieties 
of  mental  distress,  really  depends  on  a  state  of  irritability 
of  the  brain,  induced  by  imperfect  exercise." 

These  remarks  of  a  medical  man  illustrate  the  principles 
before  indicated ;  namely,  that  the  demand  of  Christianity, 
that  we  live  to  promote  the  general  happiness,  and  not 
merely  for  selfish  indulgence,  has  for  its  aim  not  only  the 
general  good,  but  the  highest  happiness  of  the  individual 
of  whom  it  is  required  in  offering  abundant  exercise  for 
all  the  noblest  faculties. 

A  person  possessed  of  wealth,  who  has  nothing  more 
noble  to  engage  attention  than  seeking  personal  enjoy- 
ment, subjects  the  mental  powers^and  moral  feelings  to  a 
degree  of  inactivity  utterly  at  war  with  health  and  mind. 
And  the  greater  the  capacities,  the  greater  are  the  suffer- 
ings which  result  from  this  cause.  Any  one  who  has  read 
the  misanthropic  wailings  of  Lord  Byron  has  seen  the  ne- 
cessary result  of  great  and  noble  powers  bereft  of  their  ap- 
propriate exercise,  and,  in  consequence,  becoming  sources 
of  the  keenest  suffering. 


HEALTH  OF  MIND.  261 

It  is  this  view  of  the  subject  which  has  often  awakened 
feelings  of  sorrow  and  anxiety  in  the  mind  of  the  writer, 
while  aiding  in  the  development  and  education  of  superior 
feminine  minds,  in  the  wealthier  circles.  Not  because  there 
are  not  noble  objects  for  interest  and  effort,  abundant,  and 
within  reach  of  such  minds ;  but  because  long-established 
custom  has  made  it  seem  so  quixotic  to  the  majority,  even 
of  the  professed  followers  of  Christ,  for  a  woman  of  wealth 
to  practice  any  great  self-denial,  that  few  have  independence 
of  mind  and  Christian  principle  sufficient  to  overcome  such 
an  influence.  The  more  a  mind  has  its  powers  developed, 
the  more  does  it  aspire  and  pine  after  some  object  worthy 
of  its  energies  and  affections ;  and  they  are  commonplace 
and  phlegmatic  characters  who  are  most  free  from  such 
deep-seated  wants.  Many  a  young  woman,  of  fine  genius 
and  elevated  sentiment,  finds  a  charm  in  Lord  Byron's 
writings,  because  they  present  a  glowing  picture  of  what, 
to  a  certain  extent,  must  be  felt  by  every  well-developed 
mind  which  has  no  nobler  object  in  life  than  the  pursuit 
of  self-gratification.' 

If  young  ladies  of  wealth  could  pursue  their  education 
under  the  full  conviction  that  the  increase  of  their  powers 
and  advantages  increased ,  their  obligations  to  use  all  for 
the  good  of  society,  and  with  some  plan  of  benevolent  en- 
terprise in  view,  what  new  motives  of  interest  would  be 
added  to  their  daily  pursuits  !  And  what  blessed  results 
would  follow  to  our  beloved  country,  if  all  well-educated 
women  carried  out  the  principles  of  Christianity,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  developed  powers  ! 

The  benevolent  activities  called  forth  in  our  late  dread- 
ful war  illustrate  the  blessed  influence  on  character  and 
happiness  in  having  a  noble  object  for  which  to  labor  and 
suffer.  In  illustration  of  this,  may  be  mentioned  the  ex- 
perience of  one  of  the  noble  women  who,  in  a  sickly  cli- 
mate and  fervid  season,  devoted  herself  to  the  ministries 
of  a  military  hospital.  Separated  from  an  adored  hus- 


262  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

band,  deprived  of  wonted  comforts  and  luxuries,  and  toil- 
ing in  humble  and  unwonted  labors,  she  yet  recalls  this  as 
one  of  the  happiest  periods  of  her  life.  And  it  was  not  the 
mere  exercise  of  benevolence  and  piety  in  ministering 
comfort  and  relieving  suffering.  It  was,  still  more,  the  ele- 
vated enjoyment  which  only  an  enlarged  and  cultivated 
mind  can  attain,  in  the  inspirations  of  grand  and  far-reach- 
ing results  purchased  by  such  sacrifice  and  suffering.  It 
was  in  aiding  to  save  her  well-loved  country  from  impend- 
ing ruin,  and  to  preserve  to  coming  generations  the  bless- 
ings of  true  liberty  and  self-government,  that  toils  and 
suffering  became  triumphant  joys. 

Every  Christian  woman  who  "  walks  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight,"  who  looks  forward  to  the  results  of  self-sacrificing 
labor  for  the  ignorant  and  sinful  as  they  will  enlarge  and 
expand  through  everlasting  ages,  may  rise  to  the  same  ele- 
vated sphere  of  experience  and  happiness. 

On  the  contrary,  the  more  highly  cultivated  the  mind 
devoted  to  mere  selfish  enjoyment,  the  more  are  the  sources 
of  true  happiness  closed  and  the  soul  left  to  helpless  empti- 
ness and  unrest. 

The  indications  of  a  diseased  mind,  owing  to  the  want 
of  the  proper  exercise  of  its  powers,  are  apathy,  discon- 
tent, a  restless  longing  for  excitement,  a  craving  for  unat- 
tainable good,  a  diseased  and  morbid  action  of  the  imagi- 
nation, dissatisfaction  with  the  world,  and  factitious  inter- 
est in  trifles  which  the  mind  feels  to  be  unworthy  of  its 
powers.  Such  minds  sometimes  seek  alleviation  in  excit- 
ing amusements ;  others  resort  to  the  grosser  enjoyments 
of  sense.  Oppressed  with  the  extremes  of  languor,  or 
over-excitement,  or  apathy,  the  body  fails  under  the  wear- 
ing process,  and  adds  new  causes  of  suffering  to  the  mind. 
Such,  the  compassionate  Saviour  calls  to  his  servbo,  in 
the  appropriate  terms,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me,"  "  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls." 


XXI. 

THE  CAKE   OF   INFANTS. 

THE  topic  of  this  chapter  may  well  be  prefaced  by  an 
extract  from  Herbert  Spencer  on  the  treatment  of  offspring. 
He  first  supposes  that  some  future  philosophic  speculator, 
examining  the  course  of  education  of  the  present  period, 
should  find  nothing  relating  to  the  training  of  children, 
and  that  his  natural  inference  would  be  that  our 
schools  were  all  for  monastic  orders,  who  have  no  charge 
of  infancy  and  childhood.  He  then  remarks,  "  Is  it  not  an 
astonishing  fact  that,  though  on  the  treatment  of  offspring 
depend  their  lives  or  deaths  and  their  moral  welfare  or 
ruin,  yet  not  one  word  of  instruction  on  the  treatment  of 
offspring  is  ever  given  to  those  who  will  hereafter  be 
parents  ?  Is  it  not  monstrous  that  the  fate  of  a  new  gene- 
ration should  be  left  to  the  chances  of  unreasoning  custom, 
or  impulse,  or  fancy,  joined  with  the  suggestions  of  igno- 
rant nurses  and  the  prejudiced  counsel  of  grandmothers  ? 

"  If  a  merchant  should  commence  business  without  any 
knowledge  of  arithmetic  or  book-keeping,  we  should  ex- 
claim at  his  folly  and  look  for  disastrous  consequences. 
Or  if,  without  studying  anatomy,  a  man  set  up  as  a  sur- 
geon, we  should  wonder  at  his  audacity  and  pity  his  pa- 
tients. But  that  parents  should  commence  the  difficult 
work  of  rearing  children  without  giving  any  attention  to 
the  principles,  physical,  moral,  or  intellectual,  which  ought 
to  guide  them,  excites  neither  surprise  at  the  actors  nor 
pity  for  the  victims." 

"  To  tens  of  thousands  that  are  killed  add  hundreds  of 


264  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

thousands  that  survive  with  feeble  constitutions,  and  millions 
•not  so  strong  as  they  should  be ;  and  you  will  have  some  idea 
of  the  curse  inflicted  on  their  offspring,  by  parents  ignorant 
of  the  laws  of  life.  Do  but  consider  for  a  moment  that 
the  regimen  to  which  children  are  subject  is  hourly  telling 
upon  them  to  their  life-long  injury  or  benefit,  and  that 
there  are  twenty  ways  of  going  wrong  to  one  way  of  go- 
ing right,  and  you  will  get  some  idea  of  the  enormous 
mischief  that  is  almost  everywhere  inflicted  by  the  thought- 
less, hap-hazard  system  in  common  use." 

"  When  sons  and  daughters  grow  up  sickly  and  feeble, 
parents  commonly  regard  the  event  as  a  visitation  of 
Providence.  They  assume  that  these  evils  come  without 
cause,  or  that  the  cause  is  supernatural.  Nothing  of  the 
kind.  In  some  cases  causes  are  inherited,  but  in  most 
cases  foolish  management  is  the  cause.  Yery  generally 
parents  themselves  are  responsible  for  this  pain,  this  de- 
bility, this  depression,  this  misery.  They  have  under- 
taken to  control  the  lives  of  their  offspring,  and  with  cruel 
carelessness  have  neglected  to  learn  those  vital  processes 
which  they  are  daily  affecting  by  their  commands  and 
prohibitions.  In  utter  ignorance  of  the  simplest  physiolo- 
gical laws,  they  have  been,  year  by  year,  undermining  the 
constitutions  of  their  children,  and  so  have  inflicted  dis- 
ease and  premature  death,  not  only  on  them  but  also  on 
their  descendants. 

"  Equally  great  are  the  ignorance  and  consequent  injury, 
when  we  turn  from  the  physical  to  the  moral  training. 
Consider  the  young,  untaught  mother  and  her  nursery  le- 
gislation. A  short  time  ago  she  was  at  school,  where  her 
memory  was  crammed  with  words  and  names  and  dates, 
and  her  reflective  faculties  scarcely  in  the  slightest  degree 
exercised — where  not  one  idea  was  given  her  respecting 
the  methods  of  dealing  with  the  opening  mind  of  child- 
hood, and  where  her  discipline  did  not  in  the  least  fit  her 
for  thinking  out  methods  of  her  own.  The  intervening 


THE  CARE  OF  INFANTS.  265 

years  have  been  spent  in  practicing  music,  fancy  work, 
novel-reading  and  party-going,  no  thought  having  been 
given  to  the  grave  responsibilities  of  maternity,  and 
scarcely  any  of  that  solid  intellectual  culture  obtained 
which  would  fit  her  for  such  responsibilities ;  and  now  see 
her  with  an  unfolding  human  character  committed  to  her 
charge,  see  her  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  phenomena 
with  which  she  has  to  deal,  undertaking  to  do  that  which 
can  be  done  but  imperfectly  even  with  the  aid  of  the  pro- 
foundest  knowledge !" 

In  view  of  such  considerations,  every  young  lady  ought 
to  learn  how  to  take  proper  care  of  an  infant ;  for,  even  if 
she  is  never  to  become  the  responsible  guardian  of  a 
nursery,  she  will  often  be  in  situations  where  she  can  ren- 
der benevolent  aid  to  others,  in  this  most  fatiguing  and 
anxious  duty. 

The  writer  has  known  instances  in  which  young  ladies, 
who  had  been  trained  by  their  mothers  properly  to 
perform  this  duty,  were  in  some  cases  the  means  of  saving 
the  lives  of  infants,  and  in  others,  of  relieving  sick  moth- 
ers from  intolerable  care  and  anguish  by  their  benevolent 
aid. 

On  this  point,  Dr.  Combe  remarks,  "  All  women  are 
not  destined,  in  the  course  of  nature,  to  become  mothers ; 
but  how  very  small  is  the  number  of  those  who  are  un- 
connected, by  family  ties,  friendship,  or  sympathy,  with  the 
children  of  others  !  How  very  few  are  there,  who,  at  some 
time  or  other  of  their  lives,  would  not  find  their  useful- 
ness and  happiness  increased,  by  the  possession  of  a  kind 
of  knowledge  intimately  allied  to  their  best  feelings  and 
affections !  And  how  important  is  it,  to  the  mother  her- 
self, that  her  efforts  should  be  seconded  by  intelligent,  in- 
stead of  ignorant  assistants  !" 

In  order  to  be  prepared  for  such  benevolent  ministries, 
every  young  lady  should  improve  the  opportunity,  when- 
ever it  is  afforded  her,  for  learning  how  to  wash,  dress, 


266  -       v     THE  AMERICAN  WOMArfS  HOME. 

and  tend  a  young  infant ;  and  whenever  she  meets  with 
such  a  work  as  Dr.  Combe's,  on  the  management  of  in- 
fants, she  ought  to  read  it,  and  remember  its  contents. 

It  was  the  design  of  the  author  to  fill  this  chapter 
chiefly  with  extracts  from  various  medical  writers,  giving 
some  of  the  most  important  directions  on  this  subject; 
but  finding  these  extracts  too  prolix  for  a  work  of  this 
kind,  she  has  condensed  them  into  a  shorter  compass.  Some 
are  quoted  verbatim,  and  some  are  abridged,  from  the 
most  approved  writers  on  this  subject. 

"  Nearly  one  half  of  the  deaths,  occurring  during  the 
first  two  years  of  existence,  are  ascribable  to  mismanage- 
ment, and  to  errors  in  diet.  At  birth,  the  stomach  is  fee- 
ble, and  as  yet  unaccustomed  to  food ;  its  cravings  are 
consequently  easily  satisfied,  and  frequently  renewed." 
"  At  that  early  age,  there  ought  to  be  no  fixed  time  for 
giving  nourishment.  The  stomach  can  not  be  thus  satis- 
fied." "  The  active  call  of  the  infant  is  a  sign,  which 
needs  never  be  mistaken." 

"  But  care  must  be  taken  to  determine  between  the  crying 
of  pain  or  uneasiness,  and  the  call  for  food ;  and  the  practice 
of  giving  an  infant  food,  to  stop  its  cries,  is  often  the  means 
of  increasing  its  sufferings.  After  a  child  has  satisfied  its 
hunger,  from  two  to  four  hours  should  intervene  before 
another  supply  is  given." 

"  At  birth,  the  stomach  and  bowels,  never  having  been 
used,  contain  a  quantity  of  mucous  secretion,  which  re- 
quires to  be  removed.  To  effect  this,  Nature  has  rendered 
the  first  portions  of  the  mother's  milk  purposely  watery  and 
laxative.  Nurses,  however,  distrusting  Nature,  often  has- 
ten to  administer  some  active  purgative;  and  the  conse- 
quence often  is,  irritation  in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  not 
easily  subdued."  It  is  only  where  the  child  is  deprived  of  its 
mother's  milk,  as  the  first  food,  that  some  gentle  laxative 
should  be  given. 

"  It  is  a  common  mistake,  to  suppose  that  because  a  wo- 


THE  CARE   OF  INFANTS.  267 

man  is  nursing,  she  ought  to  live  very  fully,  and  to  add  an 
allowance  of  wine,  porter,  or  other  fermented  liquor,  to  her 
usual  diet.  The  onjy  result  of  this  plan  is,  to  cause  an 
unnatural  fullness  in  the  system,  which  places  the  nurse  on 
the  brink  of  disease,  and  retards  rather  than  increases  the 
food  of  the  infant.  More  will  be  gained  by  the  observance 
of  the  ordinary  laws  of  health,  than  by  any  foolish  devia- 
tion, founded  on  ignorance." 

There  is  no  point  on  which  medical  men  so  emphatically 
lift  the  voice  of  warning  as  in  reference  to  administering 
medicines  to  infants.  It  is  so  difficult  to  discover  what  is  the 
matter  with  an  infant,  its  frame  is  so  delicate  and  so  sus- 
ceptible, and  slight  causes  have  such  a  powerful  influence, 
that  it  requires  the  utmost  skill  and  judgment  to  ascertain 
what  would  be  proper  medicines,  and  the  proper  quantity 
to  be  given. 

Says  Dr.  Combe,  "  That  there  are  cases  in  which  active 
means  must  be  promptly  used  to  save  the  child,  is  perfectly 
true.  But  it  is  not  less  certain  that  these  are  cases  of 
which  no  mother  or  nurse  ought  to  attempt  the  treatment. 
As  a  general  rule,  where  the  child  is  well  managed,  medi- 
cine, of  any  kind,  is  very  rarely  required ;  and  if  disease 
were  more  generally  regarded  in  its  true  light,  not  as  some- 
thing thrust  into  the  system,  which  requires  to  be  expelled 
by  force,  but  as  an  aberration  from  a  natural  mode  of  action, 
produced  by  some  external  cause,  we  should  be  in  less 
haste  to  attack  it  by  medicine,  and  more  watchful  in  its 
prevention.  Accordingly,  where  a  constant  demand  for 
medicine  exists  in  a  nursery,  the  mother  may  rest  assured 
'thaf  there  is  something  essentially  wrong  in  the  treatment 
of  her  children." 

"  Much  havoc  is  made  among  infants,  by  the  abuse  of 
calomel  and  other  medicines,  which  procure  momentary 
relief  but  end  by  producing  incurable  disease  ;  and  it  has 
often  excited  my  astonishment,  to  see  how  recklessly  reme- 
dies of  this  kind  are  had  recourse  to,  on  the  most  trifling 


268  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN9 S  HOME. 

occasions,  by  mothers  and  nurses,  who  would  be  horrified 
if  they  knew  the  nature  of  the  power  they  are  wielding, 
and  the  extent  of  injury  they  are  inflicting." 

Instead,  then,  of  depending  on  medicine  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  health  and  life  of  an  infant,  the  following  pre- 
cautions and  preventives  should  be  adopted. 

"  Take  particular  care  of  the  food  of  an  infant.  If  it  is 
nourished  by  the  mother,  her  own  diet  should  be  simple, 
nourishing,  and  temperate.  If  the  child  be  brought  up 
1  by  hand,'  the  milk  of  a  new-milch  cow,  mixed  with  one 
third  water,  and  sweetened  a  little  with  white  sugar,  should 
be  the  only  food  given,  until  the  teeth  come.  This  is  more 
suitable  than  any  preparations  of  flour  or  arrowroot,  the 
nourishment  of  which  is  too  highly  concentrated.  Never 
give  a  child  bread,  cake,  or  meat,  before  the  teeth  appear. 
If  the  food  appear  to  distress  the  child  after  eating,  first 
ascertain  if  the  milk  be  really  from  a  new-milch  cow,  as  it 
•may  otherwise  be  too  old.  Learn,  also,  whether  the  cow 
lives  on  proper  food.  Cows  that  are  fed  on  still-slops,  as  is 
often  the  case  in  cities,  furnish  milk  which  is  very  un- 
healthful." 

Be  sure  and  keep  a  good  supply  of  pure  and  fresh  air  in 
the  nursery.  On  this  point,  Dr.  Bell  remarks,  respecting 
rooms  constructed  without  fireplaces  and  without  doors  or 
windows  to  let  in  pure  air  from  without,  "The  sufferings 
of  children  of  feeble  constitutions  are  increased  beyond 
measure,  by  such  lodgings  as  these.  An  action,  brought 
by  the  commonwealth,  ought  to  lie  against  those  persons 
who  build  houses  for  sale  or  rent,  in  which  rooms  are  so 
constructed  as  not  to  allow  of  free  ventilation  ;  and  a«wri1; 
of  lunacy  taken  out  against  those  who,  with  the  common- 
Bense  experience  which  all  have  on  this  head,  should  spend 
any  portion  of  their  time,  still  more,  should  sleep,  in  rooms 
thus  nearly  air-tight." 

After  it  is  a  month  or  two  old,  take  an  infant  out  to 
walk,  or  ride,  in  a  little  wagon,  every  fair  and  warm  day ; 


THE  CARE   OF  INFANTS.  269 

but  be  very  careful  that  its  feet,  and  every  part  of  its  body, 
are  kept  warm ;  and  be  sure  that  its  eyes  are  well  protected 
from  the  light.  Weak  eyes,  and  sometimes  blindness,  are 
caused  by  neglecting  this  precaution.  Keep  the  head  of  an 
infant  cool,  never  allowing  too  warm  bonnets,  nor  permit- 
ting it  to  sink  into  soft  pillows  when  asleep.  Keeping  an 
infant's  head  too  warm  very  much  increases  nervous  irrita- 
bility ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  medical  men  forbid  the 
use  of  caps  for  infants.  But  the  head  of  an  infant  should, 
especially  while  sleeping,  be  protected  from  draughts  of  air, 
and  from  getting  cold. 

Be  very  careful  of  the  skin  of  an  infant,  as  nothing  tends 
so  effectually  to  prevent  disease.  For  this  end,  it  should 
be  washed  all  over  every  morning,  and  then  gentle  friction 
should  be  applied  with  the  hand,  to  the  back,  stomach, 
bowels,  and  limbs.  The  head  should  be  thoroughly  washed 
every  day,  and  then  brushed  with  a  soft  hair-brush,  or 
combed  with  a  fine  comb.  If,  by  neglect,  dirt  accumulates 
under  the  hair,  apply  with  the  finger  the  yolk  of  an  egg, 
and  then  the  fine  comb  will  remove  it  all,  without  any 
trouble. 

Dress  the  infant  so  that  it  will  be  always  warm,  but  not 
so  as  to  cause  perspiration.  Be  sure  and  keep  its  feet 
always  warm;  and  for  this  often  warm  them  at  a  fire, 
and  use  long  dresses.  Keep  the  neck  and  arms  covered. 
For  this  purpose,  wrappers,  open  in  front,  made  high  in  the 
neck,  with  long  sleeves,  to  put  on  over  the  frock,  are  now 
very  fashionable. 

It  is  better  for  both  mother  and  child,  that  it  should  not 
sleep  on  the  mother's  arm  at  night,  unless  the  weather  be 
extremely  cold.  This  practice  keeps  the  child  too  warm, 
and  leads  it  to  seek  food  too  frequently.  A  child  should 
ordinarily  take  nourishment  but  twice  in  the  night.  A 
crib  beside  the  mother,  with  plenty  of  warm  and  light 
covering,  is  best  for  the  child  ;  but  the  mother  must  be  sure 
that  it  is  always  kept  warm. 


2-70  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Never  cover  a  child's  head,  so  that  it  will  inhale  the  air 
of  its  own  lungs.  In  very  warm  weather,  especially  in  cities, 
great  pains  should  be  taken  to  find  fresh  and  cool  air  by 
rides  and  sailing.  Walks  in  a  public  square  in  the  cool  of 
the  morning,  and  frequent  excursions  in  ferry  or  steam- 
boats, would  often  save  a  long  bill  for  medical  attendance. 
In  hot  nights,  the  windows  should  be  kept  open,  and  the 
infant  laid  on  a  mattress,  or  on  folded  blankets.  A  bit  of 
straw  matting,  laid  over  a  feather  bed  and  covered  with  the 
under  sheet,  makes  a  very  cool  bed  for  an  infant. 

Cool  bathing,  in  hot  weather,  is  very  useful;  but  the 
water  should  be  very  little  cooler  than  the  skin  of  the  child. 
When  the  constitution  is  delicate,  the  water  should  be 
slightly  warmed.  Simply  sponging  the  body  freely  in  a 
tub,  answers  the  same  purpose  as  a  regular  bath.  •  In  very 
warm  weather,  this  should  be  done  two  or  three  times  a  day, 
always  waiting  two  or  three  hours  after  food  has  been  given. 

"  When  the  stomach  is  peculiarity  irritable,  (from  teeth- 
ing,) it  is  of  paramount  necessity  to  withhold  all  the  nos- 
trums which  have  been  so  falsly  lauded  as  i  sovereign  cures 
for  cholera  infantum?  The  true  restoratives  for  a  child 
threatened  with  disease  are  cool  air,  cool  bathing,  and  cool 
drinks  of  simple  water,  in  addition  to  proper  food,  at  stated 
intervals." 

In  many  cases,  change  of  air  from  sea  to  mountain, 
or  the  reverse,  has  an  immediate  healthful  influence  and  is 
superior  to  every  other  treatment.  Do  not  take  the  advice 
of  mothers  who  tell  of  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing, 
which  have  prgved  excellent  remedies  in  their  experience. 
Children  have  different  constitutions,  and  there  are  multi- 
tudes of  different  causes  for  their  sickness ;  and  what  might 
cure  one  child,  might  kill  another,  which  appeared  to  have 
the  same  complaint.  A  mother  should  go  on  the  general 
rule  of  giving  an  infant  very  little  medicine,  and  then  only 
by  the  direction  of  a  discreet  and  experienced  physician. 
And  there  are  cases,  when,  according  to  the  views  of  the 


THE   CARE   OF  INFANTS.  271 

most  distinguished  and  competent  practitioners,  physicians 
themselves  are  much  too  free  in  using  medicines,  instead 
of  adopting  preventive  measures. 

Do  not  allow  a  child  to  form  such  habits  that  it  will 
not  be  quiet  unless  tended  and  amused.  A  healthy  child 
should  be  accustomed  to  lie  or  sit  in  its  cradle  much  of  the 
time ;  but  it  should  occasionally  be  taken  up  and  tossed, 
or  carried  about  for  exercise  and  amusement.  An  infant 
should  be  encouraged  to  creep,  as  an  exercise  very  strength- 
ening and  useful.  If  the  mother  fears  the  soiling  of  its 
nice  dresses,  she  can  keep  a  long  slip  or  apron  which  will 
entirely  cover  the  dress,  and  can  be  removed  when  the 
child  is  taken  in  the  arms.  A  child  should  not  be  allowed, 
when  quite  young,  to  bear  its  weight  on  its  feet  very  long 
at  a  time,  as  this  tends  to  weaken  and  distort  the  limbs. 

Many  mothers,  with  a  little  painstaking,  succeed  in  put- 
ting their  infants  into  their  cradle  while  awake,  at  regular 
hours  for  sleep ;  and  induce  regularity  in  other  habits, 
which  saves  much  trouble.  During  this  training  process  a 
child  may  cry,  at  first,  a  great  deal ;  but  for  a  healthy  child, 
this  use  of  the  Jungs  does  no  harm  and  tends  rather  to 
strengthen  than  to  injure  them,  unless  it  becomes  exceed- 
ingly violent.  A  child  who  is  trained  to  lie  or  sit  and 
amuse  itself,  is  happier  than  one  who  is  carried  and  tended 
a  great  deal,  and  thus  rendered  restless  and  uneasy  when 
not  so  indulged. 

The  most  critical  period  in  the  life  of  an  infant  is  that 
of  dentition  or  teething,  especially  at  the  early  stages.  An 
adult  has  thirty-two  teeth,  but  young  children  have  only 
twenty,  which  gradually  loosen  and  are  followed  by  the 
permanent  teeth.  When  the  child  has  ten  teeth  on  each 
jaw,  all  that  are  added  are  the  permanent  set,  which  should 
be  carefully  preserved ;  this  caution  is  needful,  as  sometimes 
decay  in  the  first  double  teeth  of  the  second  set  are  sup- 
posed to  be  of  the  transient  set,  and  are  so  neglected, 
or  are  removed  instead  of  being  preserved  by  plug- 


272  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

ging.  When  the  first  teeth  rise  so  as  to  press  against 
the  gums,  there  is  always  more  or  less  inflammation,  caus- 
ing nervous  fretf ulness,  and  the  impulse  to  put  every  thing 
into  the  mouth.  Usually  there  is  disturbed  sleep,  a  slight 
fever,  and  greater  flow  of  saliva ;  this  is  often  relieved  by 
letting  the  child  have  ice  to  bite,  tied  in  a  rag. 

Sometimes  the  disorder  of  the  mouth  extends  to  the  whole 
system.  In  difficult  teething,  one  symptom  is  the  jerking 
back  of  the  head  when  taking  the  breath,  as  if  in  pain,  owing 
to  the  extreme  soreness  of  the  gums.  This  is,  in  extreme 
cases,  attended  with  increased  saliva  and  a  gummy  secretion  in 
the  corners  of  the  eyes,  itching  of  the  nose,  redness  of  cheeks, 
rash,  convulsive  twitching  of  lips  and  the  muscles  generally, 
fever,  constipation,  and  sometimes  by  a  diarrhea,  which 
last  is  favorable  if  slight ;  difficulty  of  breathing,  dilation 
of  the  pupils  of  the  eyes,  restless  motion  and  moaning ;  and 
finally,  if  not  relieved,  convulsions  and  death.  The  most 
effective  relief  is  gained  by  lancing  the  gums.  Every  wo- 
man, and  especially  every  mother,  should  know  the  time 
and  order  in  which  the  infant  teeth  come,  and,  when.any  of 
the  above  symptoms  appear,  should  examine  the  mouth, 
and  if  a  gum  is  swollen  and  inflamed,  should  either  have  a 
physician  lance  it,  or  if  this  can  not  be  done,  should  per- 
form the  operation  herself.  A  sharp  pen-knife  and  steady 
hand  making  incision  to  touch  the  rising  tooth  will  cause 
no  more  pain  than  a  simple  scratch  of  the  gum,  and  usu- 
ally will  give  speedy  relief. 

.The  temporary  teeth  should  not  be  removed  until  the 
new  ones  appear,  as  it  injures  the  jaw  and  coming  teeth ; 
but  as  soon  as  a  new  tooth  is  seen  pressing  upward,  the  tem- 
porary tooth  should  be  removed,  or  the  new  tooth  will 
come  out  of  its  proper  place.  If  there  is  not  room  where 
the  new  tooth  appears,  the  next  temporary  tooth  must  be 
taken  out.  Great  mischief  has  been  done  by  removing  the 
first  teeth  before  the  second  appear,  thus  making  a  con- 
traction of  the  jaw. 


THE   CARE   OF  INFANTS.  273 

Most  trouble  with  the  teeth  of  young  children  comes 
from  neglect  to  use  the  brush  to  remove  the  tartar  that  ac- 
cumulates near  the  gum,  causing  disease  and  decay:  This 
disease  is  sometimes  called  scurvy,  and  is  shown  by  an  accu- 
mulation around  the  teeth  and  by  inflamed  gums  that 
bleed  easily.  .Removal  of  the  tartar  by  a  dentist  and  clean- 
ing the  teeth  after  every  meal  with  a  brush  will  usually  cure 
this  evil,  which  causes  loosening  of  the  teeth  and  a  bad 
breath. 

Much  injury  is  often  done  to  teeth  by  using  improper 
tooth-powder.  Powdered  chalk  sifted  through  muslin  is 
approved  by  all  dentists,  and  should  be  used  once  every 
day.  The  tooth-brush  should  be  used  after  every  meal,  and 
floss  silk  pressed  between  the  teeth  to  remove  food  lodged 
there.  This  method  will  usually  save  the  teeth  from  de- 
cay till  old  age. 

When  an  infant  seems  ill  during  the  period  of  dentition, 
the  following  directions  from  an  experienced  physician 
may  be  of  service.  It  is  now  an  accepted  principle  of  all 
the  medical  world  that  fevers  are  to  be  reduced  by  cold 
applications ;  but  an  infant  demands  careful  and  judicious 
treatment  in  this  direction ;  some  have  extremely  sensitive 
nerves,  and  cold  is  painful.  For  such,  tepid  sponging 
should  be  used  near  a  fire,  and  the  coldness  increased  grad- 
ually. The  sensations  of  the  child  should  be  the  guide. 
Usually,  but  not  always,  children  that  are  healthy  will 
learn  by  degrees  to  prefer  cold  water,  and  then  it  may  safe- 
ly be  used. 

When  an  infant  becomes  feverish,  wrapping  its  body  in 
a  towel  wrung  out  in  warm  or  tepid  water,  and  then  keep- 
ing it  warm  in  a  woolen  blanket,  is  a  very  safe  and  sooth- 
ing remedy. 

In  case  of  constipation  this  preparation  of  food  is  useful : 

One  table-spoonful  of  unbolted  flour  wet  with  cold  water. 
Add  one  pint  of  hot  water,  and  boil  twenty  minutes.  Add 
when  taken  up,  one  pint  of  milk.  If  the  stomach  seems 


274  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN* 8  HOME. 

delicate  and  irritable,  strain  out  the  bran,  bnt  in  most  cases 
retain  it. 

In  case  of  diarrhea,  walk  with  the  child  in  arms  a  great 
deal  in  the  open  air,  and  give  it  rice-water  to  drink. 

The  warmth  and  vital  influences  of  the  nurse  are  very 
important,  and  make  this  mode  of  exercise  both  more 
soothing  and  more  efficacious,  especially  in  the  open  air, 
the  infant  being  warmly  clad. 

In  case  of  feverishness  from  teething  or  from  any  other 
cause,  wrap  the  infant  in  a  towel  wrung  out  in  tepid  wa- 
ter and  then  wrap  it  in  a  woolen  blanket.  The  water  may 
be  cooler  according  as  the  child  is  older  and  stronger. 
The  evaporation  of  the  water,  draws  off  the  heat,  while 
the  moisture  soothes  the  nerves,  and  usually  the  child  will 
fall  into  a  quiet  sleep.  As  spon  as  it  becomes  restless, 
change  the  wet  towel  and  proceed  as  before. 

The  leading  physicians  of  Europe  and  of  this  country, 
in  all  cases  of  fevers,  use  water  to  reduce  them,  by  this 
and  other  modes  of  application.  This  method  is  more 
soothing  than  any  other,  and  is  as  effective  for  adults  as 
for  infants. 

Some  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  New- 
York  who  have  examined  this  chapter  give  their  full  ap- 
proval of  the  advice  given.  If  there  is  still  distrust  as  to 
this  mode  of  using  water  to  reduce  fevers,  it  will  be  ad- 
vantageous to  read  an  address  on  the  use  of  cold  applica- 
tions in  fevers,  delivered  by  Dr.  William  Neftel,  before 
the  New- York  Academy  of  Medicine,  published  in  the 
New-York  Medical  Record  for  November,  1868  :  this 
can  be  obtained  by  inclosing  twenty  cents  to  the  editor, 
with  the  post-office  address  of  the  applicant. 


XXII. 

MANAGEMENT  OF   YOUNG   CHILDREN. 

IN  regard  to  the  physical  education  of  children,  Dr. 
Clarke,  Physician  in  Ordinary  to  the  Queen  of  England, 
expresses  views  on  one  point,  in  whicji  most  physicians 
would  coincide.  He  says,  "  There  is  no  greater  error  in  the 
management  of  children,  than  that  of  giving  them  animal 
diet  very  early.  By  persevering  in  the  use  of  an  over-stimula- 
ting diet  the  digestive  organs  become  irritated,  and  the  vari- 
ous secretions  immediately  connected  with  digestion,  and 
necessary  to  it,  are  diminished,  especially  the  biliary  secre- 
tion. Children  so  fed  become  very  liable  to  attacks  of 
fever,  and  inflammation,  affecting  particularly  the  mucous 
membranes;  and  measles  and  other  diseases  incident  to 
childhood,  are  generally  severe  in  their  attacks." 

The  result  of  the  treatment  of  the  inmates  of  the  Orphan 
Asylum,  at  Albany,  is  one  which  all  who  have  the  care  of 
young  children  should  deeply  ponder.  During  the  first  six 
years  of  the  existence  of  this  institution,  its  average  number 
of  children  was  eighty.  For  the  first  three  years,  their  diet 
was  meat  once  a  day,  fine  bread,  rice,  Indian  puddings, 
vegetables,  fruit,  and  milk.  Considerable  attention  was 
given  to  clothing,  fresh  air,  and  exercise ;  and  they  were 
bathed  once  in  three  weeks.  During  these  three  years,  from 
four  to  six  children,  and  sometimes  more,  were  continually 
on  the  sick-list ;  one  or  two  assistant  nurses  were  necessary  ; 
a  physician  was  called  two  or  three  times  a  week ;  and,  in 
this  time,  there  were  between  thirty  and  forty  deaths.  At 
the  end  of  this  period,  the  management  was  changed,  in 


276  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

these  respects  :  daily  ablutions  of  the  whole  body  were 
practiced ;  bread  of  unbolted  flour  was  substituted  for  that 
of  fine  wheat ;  and  all  animal  food  was  banished.  More 
attention  also  was  paid  to  clothing,  bedding,  fresh  air,  and 
exercise. 

The  result  was,  that  the  nursery  was  vacated;  the 
nurse  and  physician  were  no  longer  needed ;  and,  for 
two  years,  not  a  single  case  of  sickness  or  death  occurred. 
The  third  year  also,  there  were  no  deaths,  except  those  of 
two  idiots  and  one  other  child,  all  of  whom  were  new  in- 
mates, who  had  not  been  subjected  to  this  treatment.  The 
teachers  of  the  children  also  testified  there  was  a  manifest 
increase  of  intellectual  vigor  and  activity,  while  there  was 
much  less  irritability  of  temper. 

Let  parents,  nurses,  and  teachers  reflect  on  the  above 
statement,  and  bear  in  mind  that  stupidity  of  intellect,  and 
irritability  of  temper,  as  well  as  ill -health,  are  often  caused 
by  the  mismanagement  of  the  nursery  in  regard  to  the 
physical  training  of  children. 

There  is  probably  no.  practice  more  deleterious,  than 
that  of  allowing  children  to  eat  at  short  intervals,  through 
the  day.  As  the  stomach  is  thus  kept  constantly  at  work, 
with  no  time  for  repose,  its  functions  are  deranged,  and  a 
weak  or  disordered  stomach  is  the  frequent  result.  Chil- 
dren should  be  required  to  keep  cakes,  nuts,  and  other 
good  things,  which  should  be  sparingly  given,  till  just  be- 
fore a  meal,  and  then  they  will  form  a  part  of  their  regular 
supply.  This  is  better  than  to  wait  till  after  their  hunger 
is  satisfied  by  food,  when  they  will  eat  the  niceties  merely 
to  gratify  the  palate,  and  thus  overload  the  stomach  and 
interrupt  digestion. 

In  regard  to  the  intellectual  training  of  young  children, 
some  modification  in  the  common  practice  is  necessary, 
with  reference  to  their  physical  well-being.  More  care  is 
needful,  in  providing  well-ventilated  school-rooms,  and  in 
securing  more  time  for  sports  in  the  open  air,  during  school 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG    CHILDREN.  277 

hours.  It  is  very  important  to  most  mothers  that  their 
young  children  should  be  removed  from  their  care  during 
certain  school  hours ;  and  it  is  very  useful  for  quite  young 
children,  to  be  subjected  to  the  discipline  of  a  school,  and 
to  intercourse  with  other  children  of  their  own  age.  And, 
with  a  suitable  teacher,  it  is  no  matter  how  early  children 
are  sent  to  school,  provided  their  health  is  not  endangered  by 
impure  air,  too  much  confinement,  and  too  great  mental 
stimulus,  which  is  the  chief  danger  of  the  present  age. 

In  regard  to  the  formation  of  the  moral  character,  it  has 
been  too  much  the  case  that  the  discipline  of  the  nursery 
has  consisted  of  disconnected  efforts  to  make  children  either 
do,  or  refrain  from  doing,  certain  particular  acts.  Do  this, 
and  be  rewarded ;  do  that,  and  be  punished ;  is  the  ordi- 
nary routine  of  family  government. 

But  children  can  be  very  early  taught  that  their  happy 
ness,  both  now  #nd  hereafter,  depends  on  the  formation  of 
habits  of  submission,  self-denial,  anA  benevolence.  And 
all  the  discipline  of  the  nursery  can  be  conducted  by 
parents,  not  only  with  this  general  aim  in  their  own  minds, 
but  also  with  the  same  object  daily  set  before  the  minds  of 
•  the  children.  Whenever  their  wishes  are  crossed,  or  their 
wills  subdued,  they  can  be  taught  that  all  this  is  done,  not 
merely  to  please  the  parent,  or  to  secure  some  good  to 
themselves  or  to  others ;  but  as  a  part  of  that  merciful 
training  which  is  designed  to  form  such  a  character,  and 
such  habits,  that  they  can  hereafter  find  their  chief  happi- 
ness in  giving  up  their  will  to  God,  and  in  living  to  do  good 
to  others,  instead  of  living  merely  to  please  themselves. 

It  can  be  pointed  out  to  them,  that  they  must  always 
submit  their  wrill  to  the  will  of  God,  or  else  be  continually 
miserable.  It  can  be  shown  how,  in  the  nursery,  and  in 
the  school,  and  through  all  future  days,  a  child  must 
practice  the  giving  up  of  his  will  and  wishes,  when  they 
interfere  with  the  rights  and  comfort  of  others  ;  and  how 
important  it  is,  early  k>  learn  to  do  this,  so  that  it  will,  by 


278  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

habit,  become  easy  and  agreeable.  It  can  be  shown  how 
children  who  are  indulged  in  all  their  wishes,  and  who  are 
never  accustomed  to  any  self-denial,  always  find  it  hard  to 
refrain  from  what  injures  themselves  and  others.  It  can  be 
shown,  also,  how  important  it  is  for  every  person  to  form 
such  habits  of  benevolence  toward  others  that  self-denial 
in  doing  good  will  become  easy. 

Parents  have  learned,  by  experience,  that  children  can 
be  constrained  by  authority  and  penalties  to  exercise  self- 
denial,  for  their  own  good,  till  a  habit  is  formed  which 
makes  the  duty  comparatively  easy.  For  example,  well 
trained  children  can  be  accustomed  to  deny  themselves 
tempting  articles  of  food,  which  are  injurious,  until  the 
practice  ceases  to  be  painful  and  difficult.  Whereas,  an 
indulged  child  would  be  thrown  into  fits  of  anger  or 
discontent,  when  its  wishes  were  crossed  by  restraints  of 
this  kind.  ^ 

But  it  has  not  beqp.  so  readily,  discerned,  that  the  same 
method  is  needful  in  order  to  form  a  habit  of  self-denial  in 
doing  good  to  others.  It  has  been  supposed  that  while 
children  must  be  forced,  by  authority,  to  be  self-denying 
and  prudent  in  regard  to  their  own  happiness,  it  may 
properly  be  left  to  their  own  discretion,  whether  they  will 
practice  any  self-denial  in  doing  good  to  others.  But  the 
more  difficult  a  duty  is,  the  greater  is  the  need  of  parental 
authority  in  forming  a  habit  which  will  make  that  duty  easy. 

In  order  to  secure  this,  some  parents  turn  their  earliest 
efforts  to  this  object.  They  require  the  young  child 
always  to  offer  to  others  a  part  of  every  thing  which  it 
receives  ;  always  to  comply  with  all  reasonable  requests  of 
others  for  service ;  and  often  to  practice  little  acts  of  self- 
denial,  in  order  to  secure  some  enjoyment  for  others.  If 
one  child  receives  a  present  of  some  nicety,  he  is  required 
to  share  it  with  all  his  brothers  and  sisters.  If  one  asks 
his  brother  to  help  him  in  some  study  or  sport,  and  is  met 
with  a  denial,  the  parent  requires  the  unwilling  child  to  act 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG    CHILDREN.  279 

benevolently,  and  give  up  some  of  his  time  to  increase  his 
brother's  enjoyment.  Of  course,  in  such  an  effort  as  this, 
discretion  must  be  used  as  to  the  frequency  and  extent  of 
the  exercise  of  authority,  to  induce  a  habit  of  benevolence. 
But  where  parents  deliberately  aim  at  such  an  object,  and 
wisely  conduct  their  instructions  and  discipline  to  secure 
it,  very  much  will  be  accomplished. 

In  regard  to  forming  habits  of  obedience,  there  have 
been  two  extremes,  both  of  which  need  to  be  shunned. 
One  is,  a  stern  and  unsympathizing  maintenance  of  parental 
authority,  demanding  perfect  and  constant  obedience, 
without  any  attempt  to  convince  a  child  of  the  propriety 
and  benevolence  of  the  requisitions,  and  without  any 
manifestation  of  sympathy  and  tenderness  for  the  pain  and 
difficulties  which  are  to  be  met.  Under  such  discipline, 
children  grow  up  to  fear  their  parents,  rather  than  to  love 
and  trust  them  ;  while  some  of  the  most  valuable  principles 
of  character  are  chilled,  or  forever  blasted. 

In  shunning  this  danger,  other  parents  pass  to  the  oppo- 
site extreme.  They  put  themselves  too  much  on  the 
footing  of  equals  with  their  children,  as  if  little  were  due  to 
superiority  of  relation,  age,  and  experience.  Nothing  is 
exacted,  without  the  implied  concession  that  the  child  is  to 
be  a  judge  of  the  propriety  of  the  requisition  ;  and  reason 
and  persuasion  are  employed,  where  simple  command  and 
obedience  would  be  far  better.  This  system  produces  a 
most  pernicious  influence.  Children  soon  perceive  the 
position  thus  allowed  them,  and  take  every  advantage  of  it. 
They  soon  learn  to  dispute  parental  requirements,  acquire 
habits  of  forwardness  and  conceit,  assume  disrespectful 
manners  and  address,  maintain  their  views  with  pertinacity, 
and  yield  to  authority  with  ill-humor  and  resentment,  as  if 
their  rights  were  infringed  upon. 

The  medium  course  is  for  the  parent  to  take  the  attitude 
of  a  superior  in  age,  knowledge,  and  relation,  who  has  a 
perfect  right  to  control  every  action  of 'the  child,  and  that, 


280  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME.  i 

too,  without  giving  any  reason  for  the  requisitions.  "  Obey 
because  you?1  parent  commands"  is  always  a  proper  and  suffi- 
cient reason  :  though  not  always  the  best  to  give. 

But  care  should  be  taken  to  convince  the  child  that  the 
parent  is  conducting  a  course  of  discipline,  designed  to 
make  him  happy ;  and  in  forming  habits  of  implicit  obedi- 
ence, self-denial,  and  benevolence,  the  child  should  have  the 
reasons  for  most  requisitions  kindly  stated ;  never,  however, 
on  the  demand  of  it  from  the  child,  as  a  right,  but  as  an  act 
of  kindness  from  the  parent. 

It  is  impossible  to  govern  children  properly,  especially 
those  of  strong  and  sensitive  feelings,  without  a  constant 
effort  to  appreciate  the  value  which  they  attach  to  their 
enjoyments  and  pursuits.  A  lady  of  great  strength  of  mind 
and  sensibility  once  told  the  writer  that  one  of  the  most 
acute  periods  of  suffering  in  her  whole  life  was  occasioned 
by  the  burning  up  of  some  milkweed-silk,  by  her  mother. 
The  child  had  found,  for  the  first  time,  some  of  this  shining 
and  beautiful  substance;  was  filled  with  delight  at  her 
discovery ;  was  arranging  it  in  parcels ;  planning  its  future 
use,  and  her  pleasure  in  showing  it  to  her  companions — 
when  her  mother,  finding  it  strewed  over  the  carpet,  hastily 
swept  it  into  the  fire,  and  that,  too,  with  so  indifferent  an 
air,  that  the  child  fled  away,  almost  distracted  with  grief 
and  disappointment.  The  mother  little  realized  the  pain 
she  had  inflicted,  but  the  child  felt  the  unkindness  so  se- 
verely that  for  several  days  her  mother  was  an  object 
almost  of  aversion.  "While,  therefore,  the  parent  needs 
to  carry  on  a  steady  course,  which  will  oblige  the  child  al- 
ways to  give  up  its  will,  whenever  its  own  good  or  the 
greater  claims  of  others  require  it,  this  should  be  constantly 
connected  with  the  expression  of  a  tender  sympathy  for 
the  trials  and  disappointments  thus  inflicted. 

Those,  again,  who  will  join  with  children  and  help  them 
in  their  sports,  will  learn  by  this  mode  to  understand  the 
feelings  and  interests  of  childhood ;  while  at  the  same  time, 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG    CHILDREN.  281 

they  secure  a  degree  of  confidence  and  affection  which  can 
not  be  gained  so  easily  in  any  other  way.  And  it  is  to  be 
regretted  tnat  parents  so  often  relinquish  this  most  power- 
ful mode  of  influence  to  domestics  and  playmates,  who  often 
use  it  in  the  most  pernicious  manner.  In  joining  in  such 
sports,  older  persons  should  never  yield  entirely  the  attitude 
of  superiors,  or  allow  disrespectful  manners  or  address. 
And  respectful  deportment  is  never  more  cheerfully  ac- 
corded, than  in  seasons  when  young  hearts  are  pleased  and 
made  grateful  by  having  their  tastes  and  enjoyments  so  ef- 
ficiently promoted. 

y  -xt  to  the  want  of  all  government,  the  two  most  fruit- 
ful sources  of  evil  to  children  are,  unsteadiness  in  govern- 
ment and  over-government.  Most  of  the  cases  in  which  the 
children  of  sensible  and  conscientious  parents  turn  out 
badly,  result  from  one  or  the  other  of  these  causes.  In 
cases  of  unsteady  government,  either  one  parent  is  very 
strict,  severe  and  unbending,  and  the  other  excessively  in- 
dulgent, or  else  the  parents  are  sometimes  very  strict  and 
decided,  and  at  other  times  allow  disobedience  to  go  un- 
punished. In  such  cases,  children,  never  knowing  exactly 
when  they  can  escape  with  impunity,  are  constantly  tempted 
to  make  the  trial. 

The  bad  effects  of  this  can  be  better  appreciated  by  ref- 
erence to  one  important  principle  of  the  mind.  It  is  found 
to  be  universally  true,  that,  when  any  object  of  desire  is 
put  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  hope  or  expectation,  the 
mind  very, soon  ceases  to  long  for  it,  and  turns  to  other  ob- 
jects of  pursuit.  But  so  long  as  the  mind  is  hoping  for 
some  good,  and  making  efforts  to  obtain  it,  any  opposition  ex- 
cites irritable  feelings.  Let  the  object  be  put  entirely  beyond 
all  hope,  and  this  irritation  soon  ceases. 

In  consequence  of  this  principle,  those  children  who  are  un- 
der the  care  of  persons  of  steady  and  decided  government 
know  that  whenever  a  thing  is  forbidden  or  denied,  it  is  out 
of  the  reach  of  hope ;  the  desire,  therefore,  soon  ceases,  and 


282 

they  turn  to  other  objects.  But  the  children  of  undecided,  or 
of  over-indulgent  parents,  never  enjoy  this  preserving  aid, 
When  a  thing  is  denied,  they  never  know  but  either  coaxing 
may  win  it,  or  disobedience  secure  it  without  any  penalty, 
and  so  they  are  kept  in  that  state  of  hope  and  anxiety  which 
produces  irritation  and  tempts  to  insubordination.  The  chil- 
dren ol  very  indulgent  parents,  and  of  those  who  are  un- 
'decided  and  unsteady  in  government,  are  very  apt  to  be- 
come fretful,  irritable,  and  fractious. 

Another  class  of  persons,  in  shunning  this  evil,  go  to  the 
other  extreme,  and  are  very  strict  and  pertinacious  in  re- 
gard to  every  requisition.  With  them,  fault-finding  and 
penalties  abound,  until  the  children  are  either  hardened 
into  indifference  of  feeling,  and  obtuseness  of  conscience, 
or  else  become  excessively  irritable  or  misanthropic. 

It  demands  great  wisdom,  patience,  and  self-control,  to 
escape  these  two  extremes.  In  aiming  at  this,  there  are 
parents  who  have  found  the  following  maxims  of  very  great 
value : 

First :  Avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  the  multiplication  of 
rules  and  absolute  commands.  Instead  of  this,  take  the 
attitude  of  advisers.  "  My  child,  this  is  improper,  I  wish 
you  would  remember  not  to  do  it."  This  mode  of  address 
answers  for  all  the  little  acts  of  heedlessness,  awkwardness, 
or  ill-manners  so  frequently  occurring  with  children.  There 
are  cases,  when  direct  and  distinct  commands  are  needful ; 
and  in  such  cases,  a  penalty  for  disobedience  should  be  as 
steady  and  sure  as  the  laws  of  nature.  Where  such  stead- 
iness and  certainty  of  penalty  attend  disobedience,  children 
no  more  think  of  disobeying  than  they  do  of  putting  their 
fingers  into  a  burning  candle. 

The  next  maxim  is,  Govern  by  rewards  more  than  by 
penalties.  Such  faults  as  willful  disobedience,  lying,  dis- 
honesty, and  indecent  or  profane  language,  should  be  pun- 
ished with  severe  penalties,  after  a  child  has  been  fully  in- 
structed in  the  evil  of  such  practices.  But  all  the  constant 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG    CHILDREN.  283 

ly  recurring  faults  of  the  nursery,  such  as  ill-humor,  quar- 
reling, carelessness,  and  ill-manners,  may,  in  a  great  many 
cases,  be  regulated  by  gentle  and  kind  remonstrances,  and 
by  the  offer  of  some  reward  for  persevering  efforts  to  form 
a  good  habit.  It  is  very  injurious  and  degrading  to  any 
mind  to  be  kept  under  the  constant  fear  of  penalties.  Love 
and  hope  are  the  principles  that  should  be  mainly  relied  on, 
in  forming  the  habits  of  childhood. 

Another  maxim,  and  perhaps  the  most  difficult,  is,  Do 
not  govern  by  the  aid  of  severe  and  angry  tones.  A  single 
example  will  be  given  to  illustrate  this  maxim.  A  child  is 
disposed  to  talk  and  amuse  itself  at  table.  The  mother  re- 
quests it  to  be  silent,  except  when  needing  to  ask  for  food, 
or  when  spoken  to  by  its  older  friends.  It  constantly  for- 
gets. The  mother,  instead  of  rebuking  in  an  impatient 
tone,  says,  "  My  child,  you  must  remember  not  to  talk.  I 
will  remind  you  of  it  four  times  more,  and  after  that,  when- 
ever you  forget,  you  must  leave  the  table  and  wait  till  we 
are  done."  If  the  mother  is  steady  in  her  government,  it  is 
not  probable  that  she  will  have  to  apply  this  slight  penalty 
more  than  once  or  twice.  This  method  is  far  more  effectual 
than  the  use  of  sharp  and  severe  tones,  to  secure  attention 
and  recollection,  and  often  answers  the  purpose  as  well  as 
offering  some  reward. 

The  writer  has  been  in  some  families  where  the  most  ef- 
ficient and  steady  government  has  been  sustained  without 
the  use  of  a  cross  or  angry  tone ;  and  in  others,  where  a  far 
less  efficient  discipline  was  kept  up,  by  frequent  severe  re- 
bukes and  angry  remonstrances.  In  the  first  case,  the  chil- 
dren followed  the  example  set  them,  and  seldom  used  severe 
tones  to  each  other ;  in  the  latter,  the  method  employed  by 
the  parents  was  imitated  by  the  children,  and  cross  words 
and  angry  tones  resounded  from  morning  till  night,  in  every 
portion  of  the  household. 

Another  important  maxim  is,  Try  to  keep  children  in  a 
happy  state  of  mind.  Every  one  knows,  by  experience, 


284  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

that  it  is  easier  to  do  right  and  submit  to  rule  when  cheer- 
ful and  happy,  than  when  irritated.  This  is  peculiarly  true 
of  children ;  and  a  wise  mother^  when  she  finds  her  cliild 
fretful  and  impatient,  and  thus  constantly  doing  wrong, 
will  often  remedy  the  whole  difficulty,  by  telling  some 
amusing  story,  or  by  getting  the  child  engaged  in  some 
amusing  sport,  f  This  strongly  shows  the  importance  of 
learning  to  govern  children  without  the  employment  of  an- 
gry tones,  which  always  produce  irritation. 

Children  of  active,  heedless  temperament,  or  those  who 
are  odd,  awkward,  or  unsuitable  in  their  remarks  and  de- 
portment, are  often  essentially  injured  by  a  want  of  pa- 
tience and  self-control  in  those  who  govern  them.  .Such 
children  often  possess  a  morbid  sensibility  which  they 
strive  to  conceal,  or  a  desire  of  love  and  approbation,  which 
preys  like  a  famine  on  the  soul.  And  yet,  they  become  ob- 
jects of  ridicule  and  rebuke  to  almost  every  member  of  the 
family,  until  their  sensibilities  are  tortured  into  obtuseness 
or  misanthropy.  Such  children,  above  all  others^  need 
tenderness  and  sympathy.  A  thousand  instances  of  mis- 
take or  forgetfulness  should  be  passed  over  in  silence, 
while  opportunities  for  commendation  and  encouragement 
should  be  diligently  sought. 

In  regard  to  the  formation  of  habits  of  self-denial  in 
childhood,  it  is  astonishing  to  see  how  parents  who  are  very 
sensible  often  seem  to  regard  this  matter.  Instead  of  in- 
uring their  children  to  this  duty  in  early  life,  so  that  by 
habit  it  may  be  made  easy  in  after-days,  they  seem  to  be 
studiously  seeking  to  cut  them  off  from  every  chance  to  se- 
cure such  a  preparation.  Every  wish  of  the  child  is  studi- 
ously gratified ;  and,  where  a  necessity  exists  of  crossing  its 
wishes,  some  compensating  pleasure  is  offered,  in  return. 
Such  parents  often  maintain  that  nothing  shall  be  put  on 
their  table,  which  their  children  may  not  join  them  in  eat- 
ing. But  where,  so  easily  and  surely  as  at  the  daily  meal, 
can  that  habit  of  self-denial  be  formed,  which  is  so  needful 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG    CHILDREN.  285 

in  governing  the  appetites,  and  which  children  must  ac- 
quire, or  be  ruined  ?  The  food  which  is  proper  for  grown 
persons,  is  often  unsuitable  for  children ;  and  this  is  a  suf- 
ficient reason  for  accustoming  them  to  see  others  partake 
of  delicacies,  which  they  must  not  share.  Requiring  chil- 
dren to  wait  till  others  are  helped,  and  to  refrain  from  con- 
versation at  table,  except  when  addressed  by  their  elders, 
is  another  mode  of  forming  habits  of  self-denial  and  self- 
control.  Requiring  them  to  help  others  first,  and  to  offer 
the  best  to  others,  has  a  similar  influence. 

In  forming  the  moral  habits  of  children,  it  is  wise  to  take 
into  account  the  peculiar  temptations  to  which  they  are  to 
be  exposed.  The  people  of  this  nation  are  eminently  a 
trafficking  people  ;  and  the  present  standard  of  honesty,  as 
to  trade  and  debts,  is  very  low,  and  every  year  seems  sink- 
ing still  lower.  It  is,  therefore,  preeminently  important, 
that  children  should  be  trained  to  strict  honesty,  both  in 
word  and  deed.  It  is  not  merely  teaching  children  to  avoid 
absolute  lying,  which  is  needed :  all  kinds  of  deceit  should 
be  guarded  against ;  and  all  kinds  of  little  dishonest  prac- 
tices be  strenuously  opposed.  A  child  should  be  brought 
up  with  the  determined  principle,  never  to  run  in  debt,  but 
to  be  content  to  live  in  a  humbler  way,  in  order  to  se- 
cure that  true  independence,  which  should  be  the  noblest 
distinction  of  an  American  citizen. 

There  is  no  more  important  duty  devolving  upon  a 
mother,  than  the  cultivation  of  habits  of  modesty  and  pro- 
priety in  young  children. "  All  indecorous  words  or  deport- 
ment should  be  carefully  restrained  ;  and  delicacy  and  re- 
serve studiously  cherished.  It  is  a  common  notion,  that  it 
is  important  to  secure  these  virtues  to  one  sex,  more  than 
to  the  other ;  and,  by  a  strange  inconsistency,  the  sex  most 
exposed  to  danger  is  the  one  selected  as  least  needing  care. 
Yet  a  wise  mother  will  be  especially  careful  that  her  sons 
are  trained  to  modesty  and  purity  of  mind. 

Yet  few  mothers  are  sufficiently  aware  of  the  dreadful 


286  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'' S  HOME. 

penalties  which  often  result  from  indulged  impurity  of 
thought.  If  children,  in  future  life,  can  be  preserved  from 
licentious  associates,  it  is  supposed  that  their  safety  is  se- 
cured. But  the  records  of  our  insane  retreats,  and  the 
pages  of  medical  writers,  teach  that  even  in  solitude,  and 
without  being  aware  of  the  sin  or  the  danger,  children  may 
inflict  evils  on  themselves,  which  not  unfrequently  termi- 
nate in  disease,  delirium,  and  death. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  explanations  on  this  point  any 
farther  than  this  ;  that  certain  parts  of  the  body  are  not  to 
be  touched  except  for  purposes  of  cleanliness,  and  that  the 
most  dreadful  suffering  comes  from  disobeying  these  com- 
mands. So  in  regard  to  practices  and  sins  of  which  a  young 
child  will  sometimes  inquire,  the  wise  parent  will  say,  that 
this  is  what  children  can  not  understand,  and  about  which 
they  must  not  talk  or  ask  questions.  And  they  should  be 
told  that  it  is  always  a  bad  sign,  when  children  talk  on 
matters  which  parents  call  vulgar  and  indecent,  and  that 
the  company  of  such  children  should  be  avoided.  Disclos- 
ing details  of  wrong-doing  to  young  and  curious  children, 
often  leads  to  the  very  evils  feared.  But  parents  and  teach- 
ers, in  this  age  of  danger,  should  be  well  informed  and 
watchful ;  for  it  is  not  unfrequently  the  case,  that  servants 
and  school-mates  will  teach  young  children  practices,  which 
exhaust  the  nervous  system  and  bring  on  paralysis,  mania, 
and  death. 

And  finally,  in  regard  to  the  early  religious  training  of 
children,  the  examples  of  the  Creator  in  the  early  training 
of  our  race  may  safely  be  imitated.  That  "  He  is,  and  is 
a  rewarder" — that  he  is  everywhere  present — that  he  is  a 
tender  Father  in  heaven,  who  is  grieved  when  any  of  his 
children  do  wrong,  yet  ever  ready  to  forgive  those  who  are 
striving  to  please  him  by  well-doing,  these  are  the  most 
effective  motives  to  save  the  young  from  the  paths  of  dan- 
ger and  sin.  The  rewards  and  penalties  of  the  life  to  come 
are  better  adapted  to  maturer  age,  than  to  the  imperfect 
and  often  false  and  fearful  conceptions  of  the  childish  mind. 


XXIII. 

DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS   AND   SOCIAL   DUTIES. 

WHENEVER  the  laws  of  body  and  mind  are  properly 
understood,  it  will  be  allowed  that  every  person  needs 
some  kind  of  recreation  ;  and  that,  by  seeking  it,  the  body 
is  strengthened,  the  mind  is  invigorated,  and  all  our  duties 
are  more  cheerfully  and  successfully  performed. 

Children,  whose  bodies  are  rapidly  growing  and  whose 
nervous  system  is  tender  and  excitable,  need  much  more 
amusement  than  persons  of  mature  age.  Persons,  also,  who 
are  oppressed  with  great  responsibilities  and  duties,  or  who 
are  taxed  by  great  intellectual  or  moral  excitement,  need 
recreations  which  physically  exercise  and  draw  off  the  mind 
from  absorbing  interests.  Unfortunately,  such  persons  are 
those  who  least  resort  to  amusements,  while  the  idle,  gay, 
and  thoughtless  seek  those  which  are  not  needed,  and  for 
which  useful  occupation  would  be  a  most  beneficial 
substitute. 

As  the  only  legitimate  object  of  amusement  is  to  prepare 
mind  and  body  for  the  proper  discharge  of  duty,  the  pro- 
tracting of  such  as  interfere  with  regular  employments,  or 
induce  excessive  fatigue,  or  weary  the  mind,  or  invade  the 
proper  hours  for  repose,  must  be  sinful. 

In  deciding  what  should  be  selected,  and  what  avoided, 
the  following  are  guiding  principles.  In  the  first  place,  no 
amusements  which  inflict  needless  pain  should  ever  be 
allowed.  All  tricks  which  cause  fright  or  vexation,  and  all 
sports  which  involve  suffering  to  animals,  should  be  utterly 
forbidden.  Hunting  and  fishing,  for  mere  sport,  can  never 


288  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

be  justified.  If  a  man  can  convince  his  children  that  he 
follows  these  pursuits  to  gain  food  or  health,  and  not  for 
amusement,  his  example  may  not  be  very  injurious.  But 
when  children  see  grown  persons  kill  and  frighten  animals, 
for  sport,  habits  of  cruelty,  rather  than  feelings  of  tender- 
ness and  benevolence,  are  cultivated. 

In  the  next  place,  we  should  seek  no  recreations  which 
endanger  life,  or  interfere  with  important  duties.  As  the 
legitimate  object  of  amusements  is  to  promote  health  and 
prepare  for  some  serious  duties,  selecting  those  which  have  a 
directly  opposite  tendency,  can  not  be  justified.  Of  course, 
if  a  person  feels  that  the  previous  day's  diversion  has 
shortened  the  hours  of  needful  repose,  or  induced  a  lassitude 
of  mind  or  body,  instead  of  invigorating  them,  it  is  certain 
that  an  evil  has  been  done  which  should  never  be  repeated. 

Another  rule  which  has  been  extensively  adopted  in  the 
religious  world  is,  to  avoid  those  amusements  which  experi- 
ence has  shown  to  be  so  exciting,  and  connected  with  so 
many  temptations,  as  to  be  pernicious  in  tendency,  both  to 
the  individual  and  to  the  community.  It  is  on  this  ground, 
that  horse-racing  and  circus-riding  have  been  excluded. 
Not  because  there  is  any  thing  positively  wrong  in  having 
men  and  horses  run  and  perform  feats  of  agility,  or  in  per- 
sons looking  on  for  the  diversion :  but  because  experience 
has  shown  so  many  evils  connected  with  these  recreations, 
that  they  should  be  relinquished.  So  with  theatres.  The 
enacting  of  characters  and  the  amusement  thus  afforded  in 
themselves  may  be  harmless ;  and  possibly,  in  certain 
cases,  might  be  useful :  but  experience  has  shown  so  many 
evils  to  result  from  this  source,  that  it  has  been  deemed 
wrong  to  patronize  it.  So,  also,  with  those  exciting  games 
of  chance  which  are  employed  in  gambling. 

Under  the  same  head  comes  dancing,  in  the  estimation  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  religious  world.  Still,  there  are 
many  intelligent,  excellent,  and  conscientious  persons  who 
hold  a  contrary  opinion.  Such  maintain  that  it  is  an  inno- 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES.          289 

cent  and  healthful  amusement,  tending  to  promote  ease  of 
manners,  cheerfulness,  social  affection,  and  health  of  mind 
and  body  ;  that  evils  are  involved  only  in  its  excess ;  that  like 
food,  study,  or  religious  excitement,  it  is  only  wrong  when 
not  properly  regulated;  and  that,  if  serious  and  intelli- 
gent people  would  strive  to  regulate,  rather  than  banish, 
this  amusement,  much  more  good  would  be  secured. 

On  the  other  side,  it  is  objected,  not  that  dancing  is 
a  sin,  in  itself  considered,  for  it  was  once  a  part  of  sacred 
worship ;  not  that  it  would  be  objectionable,  if  it  were 
properly  regulated ;  not  that  it  does  not  tend,  when  used 
in  a  proper  manner,  to  health  of  body  and  mind,  to  grace 
of  manners,  and  to  social  enjoyment :  all  these  things  are 
conceded.  But  it  is  objected  to,  on  the  same  ground  as 
horse-racing  and  theatrical  entertainments  ;  that  we  are  to 
look  at  amusements  as  they  are,  and  not  as  they  might  be. 
Horse-races  might  be  so  managed  as  not  to  involve  cruelty, 
gambling,  drunkenness,  and  other  vices.  And  so  might 
theatres.  And  if  serious  and  intelligent  persons  undertook 
to  patronize  these,  in  order  to  regulate  them,  perhaps  they 
would  be  somewhat  raised  from  the  depths  to  which  they 
have  sunk.  But  such  persons  believe  that,  with  the  weak 
sense  of  moral  obligation  existing  in  the  mass  of  society,  and 
the  imperfect  ideas  mankind  have  of  the  proper  use  of  amuse- 
ments, and  the  little  self-control  which  men  or  women  or 
children  practice,  these  will  not,  in  fact,  be  thus  regulated. 

And  they  believe  dancing  to  be  liable  to  the  same  objec- 
tions. As  this  recreation  is  actually  conducted,  it  does  not 
tend  to  produce  health  of  body  or  mind,  but  directly  the 
contrary.  If  young  and  old  went  out  to  dance  together 
in  open  air,  as  the  French  peasants  do,  it  would  be  a  very 
different  sort  of  amusement  from  that  which  often  is 
witnessed  in  a  room  furnished  with  many  lights  and  filled 
with  guests,  both  expending  the  healthful  part  of  the 
atmosphere,  where  the  young  collect,  in  their  tightest 
dresses,  to  protract  for  several  hours  a  kind  of  physical  ex- 


200  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

ertion  which  is  not  habitual  to  them.  During  this  process, 
the  blood  is  made  to  circulate  more  swiftly  than  usual,  in 
circumstances  where  it  is  less  perfectly  oxygenized  than 
health  requires ;  the  pores  of  the  skin  are  excited  by  heat 
and  exercise ;  the  stomach  is  loaded  with  indigestible  arti- 
cles, and  the  quiet,  needful  to  digestion,  withheld ;  the  di- 
version is  protracted  beyond  the  usual  hour  for  repose ;  and 
then,  when  the  skin  is  made  the  most  highly  susceptible 
to  damps  and  miasms,  the  company  pass  from  a  warm  room 
to  the  cold  night-air.  It  is  probable  that  no  single  amuse- 
ment can  be  pointed  out  combining  so  many  injurious 
particulars  as  this,  which  is  so  often  defended  as  a  health- 
ful one.  Even  if  parents,  who  train  their  children  to  dance, 
can  keep  them  from  public  balls,  (which  is  seldom  the  case,) 
dancing,  as  ordinarily  conducted  in  private  parlors,  in  most 
cases  is  subject  to  nearly  all  the  same  mischievous 
influences. 

The  spirit  of  Christ  is  that  of  self-denying  benevolence ; 
and  his  great  aim,  by  his  teachings  and  example,  was  to 
train  his  followers  to  avoid  all  that  should  lead  to  sin,  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  the  weaker  ones  of  his  family.  Yet 
he  made  wine  at  a  wedding,  attended  a  social  feast  on  the 
Sabbath,*  reproved  excess  of  strictness  in  Sabbath-keep- 
ing generally,  and  forbade  no  safe  and  innocent  enjoyment. 
In  following  his  example,  the  rulers  of  the  family,  then,  will 
introduce  the  most  highly  exciting  amusements  only  in  cir- 
cumstances where  there  are  such  strong  principles  and  hab- 
its of  self-control  that  the  enjoyment  will  not  involve  sin 
in  the  actor  or  needless  temptation  to  the  weak. 

The  course  pursued  by  our  Puritan  ancestors,  in  the  period 
succeeding  their  first  perils  amid  sickness  and  savages,  is  an  ex- 
ample that  may  safely  be  practiced  at  the  present  day.  The 
young  of  both  sexes  were  educated  in  the  higher  branches, 
in  country  academies,  and  very  often  the  closing  exercises 

*  Luke  xiv.  In  reading  this  passage,  please  notice  what  kind  of  guests 
are  to  be  invited  to  the  feast  that  Jesus  Christ  recommends. 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND   SOCIAL  DUTIES.          291 

were  theatricals,  in  which  the  pupils  were  performers  and 
their  pastors,  elders,  and  parents,  the  audience.  So,  at  so- 
cial gatherings,  the  dance  was  introduced  before  minister 
and  wife,  with  smiling  approval.  The  roaring  fires  and 
broad  chimneys  provided  pure  air,  and  the  nine  o'clock  bell 
ended  the  festivities  that  gave  new  vigor  and  zest  to  life, 
while  the  dawn  of  the  next  day's  light  saw  all  at  their  posts 
of  duty,  with  heartier  strength  and  blither  spirits. 

No  indecent  or  unhealthful  costumes  offended  the  eye, 
no  half -naked  dancers  of  dubious  morality  were  sustained 
in  a  life  of  dangerous  excitement,  by  the  money  of  Chris- 
tian people,  for  the  mere  amusement  of  their  night  hours. 
No  shivering  drivers  were  deprived  of  comfort  and  sleep, 
to  carry  ho,me  the  midnight  followers  of  fashion ;  nor  was 
the  quiet  and  comfort  of  servants  in  hundreds  of  dwellings 
invaded  for  the  mere  amusement  of  their  superiors  in  educa- 
tion and  advantages.  The  command  "we  that  are  strong,  ought 
to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  our- 
selves," was  in  those  days  not  reversed.  Had  the  drama  and 
the  dance  continued  to  be  regulated  by  the  rules  of  tempe- 
rance, health,  and  Christian  benevolence,  as  in  the  days  of 
our  forefathers,  they  would  not  have  been  so  generally 
banished  from  the  religious  world.  And  the  question  is 
now  being  discussed,  whether  they  can  be  so  regulated  at 
the  present  time  as  not  to  violate  the  laws,  either  of  health 
or  benevolence.* 

In  regard  to  home  amusements,  card-playing  is  now 
indulged  in,  in  many  conscientious  families  from  which  it 
formerly  was  excluded,  and  for  these  reasons  :  it  is  claimed 
that  this  is  a  quiet  home  amusement,  which  unites  pleas- 

*  Fanny  Kemble  Butler  remarked  to  the  present  writer  that  she  re- 
garded theatres  wrong,  chiefly  because  of  the  injury  involved  to  the 
actors.  Can  a  Christian  mother  contribute  money  to  support  young  wo- 
men in  a  profession  from  which  she  would  protect  her  own  daughter, 
as  from  degradation,  and  that,  too,  simply  for  the  amusement  of  herself 
and  family  ?  Would  this  be  following  the  self-sacrificing  benevolence 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles  ? 


292  THE   AMERICAN    WOMAN'S  HOME. 

antly  the  aged  with  the  young  ;  that  it  is  not  now  employed 
in  respectable  society  for  gambling,  as  it  formerly  was ;  that 
to  some  young  minds  it  is  a  peculiarly  fascinating  game,  and 
should  be  first  practiced  under  the  parental  care,  till  the  ex- 
citement of  novelty  is  past,  thus  rendering  the  danger  to 
children  less,  when  going  into  the  world ;  and;  finally,  that 
habits  of  self-control  in  exciting  circumstances  may  and 
should  be  thus  cultivated  in  the  safety  of  home.  Many 
parents  who  have  taken  this  course  with  their  sons  in  early 
life,  believe  that  it  has  proved  rather  a  course  of  safety 
than  of  danger.  Still,  as  there  is  great  diversity  of  opinion, 
among  persons  of  equal  worth  and  intelligence,  a  mutual 
spirit  of  candor  and  courtesy  should  be  practiced.  The 
sneer  at  bigotry  and  narrowness  of  views,  on  on£  side,  and 
the  uncharitable  implication  of  want  of  piety,  or  sense,  on 
the  other,  are  equally  ill-bred  and  unchristian.  Truth  on 
this  subject  is  best  promoted,  not  by  ill-natured  crimination 
and  rebuke,  but  by  calm  reason,  generous  candor,  forbear- 
ance, and  kindness. 

There  is  another  species  of  amusement,  which  a  large 
portion  of  the  religious  world  formerly  put  under  the  same 
condemnation  as  the  preceding.  This  is  novel-reading. 
The  confusion  and  difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject 
have  arisen  from  a  want  of  clear  and  definite  distinctions. 
Now,  as  it  is  impossible  to  define  what  are  novels  and  what 
are  not,  so  as  to  include  one  class  of  fictitious  writings  and 
exclude  every  other,  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  rule 
respecting  them.  The  discussion,  in  fact,  turns  on  the  use 
of  those  works  of  imagination  which  belong  to  the  class  of 
fictitious  narratives.  That  this  species  of  reading  is  not 
only  lawful  but  necessary  and  useful,  is  settled  by  divine 
examples,  in  the  parables  and  allegories  of  Scripture.  Of 
course,  the  question  must  be,  what  kind  of  fabulous  writ- 
ings must  be  avoided,  and  what  allowed. 

In  deciding  this,  no  specific  rules  can  be  given ;  but  it 
must  be  a  matter  to  be  regulated  by  the  nature  and  circum- 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND   SOCIAL  DUTIES.         293 

stances  of  each  case.  No  works  of  fiction  which  tend  to 
throw  the  allurements  of  taste  and  genius  around  vice  and 
crime  should  ever  be  tolerated ;  and  all  that  tend  to  give 
false  views  of  life  and  duty  should  also  be  banished.  Of 
those  which  are  written  for  mere  amusement,  presenting 
scenes  and  events  that  are  interesting  and  exciting  and  hav- 
ing no  bad  moral  influence,  much  must  depend  on  the  char- 
acter and  circumstances  of  the  reader.  Some  minds  are 
torpid  and  phlegmatic,  and  need  to  have  the  imagination 
stimulated :  such  would  be  benefited  by  this  kind  of 
reading.  Others  have  quick  and  active  imaginations,  and 
would  be  as  much  injured  by  excess.  Some  persons  are 
often  so  engaged  in  absorbing  interests,  that  any  thing  in 
nocent,  which  will  for  a  short  time  draw  off  the  mind,  is  of 
the  nature  of  a  medicine ;  and,  in  such  cases,  this  kind  of 
reading  is  useful. 

There  is  need,  also,  that  some  men  should  keep  a  super- 
vision of  the  current  literature  of  the  day,  as  guardians,  to 
warn  others  of  danger.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  more  suitable 
for  editors,  clergymen,  and  teachers  to  read  indiscrimi- 
nately, than  for  any  other  class  of  persons ;  for  they  are  the 
guardians  of  the  public  weal  in  matters  of  literature,  and 
should  be  prepared  to  advise  parents  and  young  persons  of 
the  evils  in  one  direction  and  the  good  in  another.  In  do- 
ing this,  however,  they  are  bound  to  go  on  the  same  princi- 
ples which  regulate  physicians,  when  they  visit  infected  dis- 
tricts— using  every  precaution  to  prevent  injury  to  them- 
selves ;  having  as  little  to  do  with  pernicious  exposures,  as 
a  benevolent  regard  to  others  will  allow;  and  faithfully 
employing  all  the  knowledge  and  opportunities  thus  gained 
for  warning  and  preserving  others.  There  is  much  danger, 
in  taking  this  course,  that  men  will  seek  the  excitement  of 
the  imagination  for  the  mere  pleasure  it  affords,  under  the 
plea  of  preparing  .to  serve  the  public,  when  this  is  neither 
the  aim  nor  the  result. 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  such  works  by  the  young,  as  a 


294  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

general  rule,  they  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  any  'except 
those  of  a  dull  and  phlegmatic  temperament,  until  the  solid 
parts  of  education  are  secured  and  a  taste  for  more  elevated 
reading  is  acquired.  If  these  stimulating  condiments  in 
literature  be  freely  used  in  youth,  all  relish  for  more  solid 
reading  will  in.  a  majority  of  cases  be  destroyed.  If  parents 
succeed  in  securing  habits  of  cheerful  and  implicit  obedi- 
ence, it  will  be  very  easy  to  regulate  this  matter,  by  prohib- 
iting the  reading  of  any  story-book,  until  the  consent  of  the 
parent  is  obtained. 

The  most  successful  mode  of  forming  a  taste  for  suitable 
reading,  is  for  parents  to  select  interesting  works  of  history 
and  travels,  with  maps  and  pictures  suited  to  the  age  and 
attainments  of  the  young,  and  spend  an  hour  or  two  each 
day  or  evening,  in  aiming  to  make  truth  as  interesting  as 
fiction.  Whoever  has  once  tried  this  method  will  find  that 
the  uninjured  mind  of  childhood  is  better  satisfied  with 
what  they  know  is  true,  when  wisely  presented,  than  with 
the  most  exciting  novels,  which  they  know  are  false. 

Perhaps  there  has  been  some  just  ground  of  objection  to 
the  course  often  pursued  by  parents  in  neglecting  to  pro- 
vide suitable  and  agreeable  substitutes  for  the  amusements 
denied.  But  there  is  a  great  abundance  of  safe,  healthful, 
and  delightful  recreations,  which  all  parents  may  secure  for 
their  children.  Some  of  these  will  here  be  pointed  out. 

One  of  the  most  useful  and  important,  is  the  cultivation 
of  flowers  and  fruits.  This,  especially  for  the  daughters 
of  a  family,  is  greatly  promotive  of  health  and  amusement. 
It  is  with  the  hope  that  many  young  ladies,  whose  habits 
are  now  BO  formed  that  they  can  never  be  induced  to  a 
course  of  active  domestic  exercise  so  long  as  their  parents 
are  able  to  hire  domestic  service,  may  yet  be  led  to  an  em- 
ployment which  will  tend  to  secure  health  and  vigor  of 
constitution,  that  much  space  will  be  given  in  the  second 
volume  of  this  work,  to  directions  for  the  cultivation  of 
fruits  and  flowers. 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES.         295 

It  would  be  a  most  desirable  improvement,  if  all  schools 
for  young  women  could  be  furnished  with  suitable  grounds 
and  instruments  for  the  cultivation  of  fruits  and  flowers, 
and  every  inducement  offered  to  engage  the  pupils  in  this 
pursuit.  No  father,  who  wishes  to  have  his  daughters 
grow  up  to  be  healthful  women,  can  take  a  surer  method  to 
secure  this  end.  Let  him  set  apart  a  portion  of  his  ground 
for  fruits  and  flowers,  and  see  that  the  soil  is  well  prepared 
and  dug  over,  and  all  the  rest  may  be  committed  to  the  care 
of  the  children.  These  would  need  to  be  provided  with  a 
light  hoe  and  rake,  a  dibble  or  garden  trowel,  a  watering- 
pot,  and  means  and  opportunities  for  securing  seeds,  roots, 
bulbs,  buds,  and  grafts,  all  which  might  be  done  at  a  trifling 
expense.  Then,  with  proper  encouragement  and  by  the 
aid  of  a  few  intelligible  and  practical  directions,  every 
man  who  has  even  half  an  acre  could  secure  a  small  Eden 
around  his  premises. 

In  pursuing  this  amusement  children  can  also  be  led  to 
acquire  many  useful  habits.  Early  rising  would,  in  many 
cases,  be  thus  secured ;  and  if  they  were  required  to  keep 
their  walks  and  borders  free  from  weeds  and  rubbish,  habits 
of  order  and  neatness  would  be  induced.  Benevolent  and 
social  feelings  could  also  be  cultivated,  by  influencing 
children  to  share  their  fruits  and  flowers  with  friends  and 
neighbors,  as  well  as  to  distribute  roots  and  seeds  to  those 
who  have  not  the  means  of  procuring  them.  A  woman  or 
a  child,  by  giving  seeds  or  slips  or  roots  to  a  washerwoman, 
or  a  farmer's  boy,  thus  inciting  them  to  love  and  cultivate 
fruits  and  flowers,  awakens  a  new  and  refining  source  of 
enjoyment  in  minds  which  have  few  resources  more  elevat- 
ed than  mere  physical  enjoyments.  Our  Saviour  directs 
us  in  making  feasts,  to  call,  not  the  rich  who  can  recom- 
pense again,  but  the  poor  who  can  make  no  returns.  So 
children  should  be  taught  to  dispense  their  little  treasures 
not  alone  to  companions  and  friends,  who  will  probably 
return  similar  favors  ;  but  to  those  who  have  no  means  of 


296  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

making  any  return.  If  the  rich,  who  acquire  a  love  for 
the  enjoyments  of  taste  and  have  the  means  to  gratify  it, 
would  aim  to  extend  among  the  poor  the  cheap  and  simple 
enjoyment  of  fruits  and  flowers,  our  country  would  soon 
literally  "  blossom  as  the  rose." 

If  the  ladies  of  a  neighborhood  would  unite  small  con- 
tributions, and  send  a  list  of  flower-seeds  and  roots  to  some 
respectable  and  honest  florist,  who  would  not  be  likely  to 
turn  them  off  with  trash,  they  could  divide  these  among 
themselves  and  their  poor  neighbors,  so  as  to  secure  an 
abundant  variety  at  a  very  small  expense.  A  bag  of 
flower-seeds,  which  can  be  obtained  at  wholesale  for  four 
cents,  would  abundantly  supply  a  whole  neighborhood; 
and  by  the  gathering  of  seeds  in  the  autumn,  could  be 
perpetuated. 

Another  very  elevating  and  delightful  recreation  for  the 
young  is  found  in  music.  Here  the  writer  would  protest 
against  the  practice  common  in  many  families,  of  having 
the  daughters  learn  to  play  on  the  piano  whether  they 
have  a  taste  and  an  ear  for  music,  or  not.  A  young  lady 
who  does  not  sing  well,  and  has  no  great  fondness  for  music, 
does  nothing  but  waste  time,  money,  and  patience  in 
learning  to  play  on  the  piano.  But  all  children  can  be 
taught  to  sing  in  early  childhood,  if  the  scientific  mode  of 
teaching^  music  in  schools  could  be  more  widely  intro- 
duced, as  it  is  in  Prussia,  Germany,  and  Switzerland. 
Then  young  children  could  read  and  sing  music  as  easily 
as  they  can  read  language ;  and  might  take  any  tune, 
dividing  themselves  into  bands,  and  sing  off  at  sight  the 
endless  variety  of  music  which  is  prepared.  And  if 
parents  of  wealth  would  take  pains  to  have  teachers  quali- 
fied for  the  purpose,  who  should  teach  all  the  young  .chil- 
dren in  the  community,  much  would  be  done  for  the  happi- 
ness and  elevation  of  the  rising  generation.  This  is  an 
element  of  education  which  we  are  glad  to  know  is,  year  by 
year,  more  extensively  and  carefully  cultivated ;  and  it  is 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES.          297 

not  only  a  means  of  culture,  but  also  an  amusement,  which 
children  relish  in  the  highest  degree ;  and  which  they  can 
enjoy  at  home,  in  the  fields,  and  in  visits  abroad. 

Another  domestic  amusement  is  the  collecting  of  shells, 
plants,  and  specimens  in  geology  and  mineralogy,  for  the 
formation  of  cabinets.  If  intelligent  parents  would  pro- 
cure the  simpler  works  which  have  been  prepared  for  the 
young,  and  study  them  with  their  children,  a  taste  for  such 
recreations  would  soon  be  developed.  The  writer  has  seen 
young  boys,  of  eight  and  ten  years  of  age,  gathering  and 
cleaning  shells  from  rivers,  and  collecting  plants  and 
mineralogical  specimens,  with  a  delight  bordering  on  ecsta- 
sy ;  and  there  are  few,  if  any,  who  by  proper  influences 
would  not  find  this  a  source  of  ceaseless  delight  and 
improvement. 

Another  resource  for  family  diversion  is  to  be  found  in 
the  various  games  played  by  children,  and  in  which  the 
joining  of  older  members  of  the  family  is  always  a  great 
advantage  to  both  parties,  especially  those  in  the  open  air. 

All  medical  men  unite  in  declaring  that  nothing  is  more 
beneficial  to  health  than  hearty  laughter ;  and  surely  our 
benevolent  Creator  would  not  have  provided  risibles,  and 
made  it  a  source  of  health  and  enjoyment  to  use  them,  if 
it  were  a  sin  so  to  do.  There  has  been  a  tendency  to 
asceticism,  on  this  subject,  which  needs  to  be  removed. 
Such  commands  as  forbid  foolish  laughing  and  jesting, 
"which  are  not  convenient"  and  which  forbid  all  idle 
words  and  vain  conversation,  can  not  apply  to  any  thing  ex- 
cept what  is  foolish,  vain,  and  useless.  But  jokes,  laughter, 
and  sports,  when  used  in  such  a  degree  as  tends  only  to  pro- 
mote health  and  happiness,  are  neither  vain,  foolish,  nor 
"  not  convenient."  It  is  the  excess  of  these  things,  and  not 
the  moderate  use  of  them,  which  Scripture  forbids.  The 
prevailing  temper  of  the  mind  should  be  serious,  yet 
cheerful ;  and  there  are  times  when  relaxation  and  laughter 
are  not  only  proper  but  necessary  and  right  for  all.  There 


298  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

is  nothing  better  for  this  end  than  that  parents  and  older 
persons  should  join  in  the  sports  of  childhood.  Mature 
minds  can  always  make  such  diversions  more  entertaining 
to  children,  and  can  exert  a  healthful  moral  influence  over 
their  minds ;  and  at  the  same  time  can  gain  exercise  and 
amusement  for  themselves.  How  lamentable  that  so  many 
fathers,  who  could  be  thus  useful  and  happy  with  their 
children,  throw  away  such  opportunities,  and  wear  out 
soul  and  body  in  the  pursuit  of  gain  or  fame  ! 

Another  resource  for  children  is  the  exercise  of  mechan- 
ical skill.  Fathers,  by  providing  tools  for  their  boys,  and 
showing  them  how  to  make  wheelbarrows,  carts,  sleds,  and 
various  other  articles,  contribute  both  to  the  physical,  moral, 
and  social  improvement  of  their  children.  And  in  regard 
to  little  daughters,  much  more  can  be  done  in  this  way  than 
many  would  imagine.  The  writer,  blessed  with  the  exam- 
ple of  a  most  ingenious  and  industrious  mother,  had  not  only 
learned  before  the  age  of  twelve  to  make  dolls,  of  various 
sorts  and  sizes,  but  to  cut  and  fit  and  sew  every  article  that 
belongs  to  a  doll's  wardrobe.  This,  which  was  done  by  the 
child  for  mere  amusement,  secured  such  a  facility  in  me- 
chanical pursuits,  that,  ever  afterward,  the  cutting  and 
fitting  of  any  article  of  dress,  for  either  sex,  was  accom- 
plished with  entire  ease. 

When  a  little  girl  begins  to  sew,  her  mother  can  promise 
her  a  small  bed  and  pillow,  as  soon  as  she  has  sewed  a 
patch  quilt  for  them ;  and  then  a  bedstead,  as  soon  as  she 
has  sewed  the  sheets  and  cases  for  pillows;  and  then  a 
large  doll  to  dress,  as  soon  as  she  has  made  the  under-gar. 
ments ;  and  thus  go  on  till  the  whole  contents  of  the  baby- 
house  are  earned  by  the  needle  and  skill  of  its  little  owner. 
Thus  the  task  of  learning  to  sew  will  become  a  pleasure ;  and 
every  new  toy  will  be  earned  by  useful  exertion.  A  little 
girl  can  be  taught,  by  the  aid  of  patterns  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  to  cut  and  fit  all  articles  necessary  for  her  doll. 
She  can  also  be  provided  with  a  little  wash-tub  and  irons, 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES.          299 

and  thus  keep  in  proper  order  a  complete  miniature  domes- 
tic establishment. 

Besides  these  recreations,  there  are  the  enjoyments 
secured  in  walking,  riding,  visiting,  and  many  other  em- 
ployments which  need  not  be  recounted.  Children,  if 
trained  to  be  healthful  and  industrious,  will  never  fail  to 
discover  resources  of  amusement ;  while  their  guardians 
should  lend  their  aid  to  guide  and  restrain  them  from  excess. 

There  is  need  of  a  very  great  change  of  opinion  and 
practice  in  this  nation  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  social  and 
domestic  duties.  Many  sensible  and  conscientious  men 
spend  all  their  time  abroad  in  business ;  except  perhaps  an 
hour  or  so  at  night,  when  they  are  so  fatigued  as  to  be 
unfitted  for  any  social  or  intellectual  enjoyment.  And  some 
of  the  most  conscientious  men  in  the  country  will  add  to  their 
professional  business  public  or  benevolent  enterprises,  which 
demand  time,  effort,  and  money ;  and  then  excuse  them- 
selves for  neglecting  all  care  of  their  children,  and  efforts 
for  their  own  intellectual  improvement,  or  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  families,  by  the  plea  that  they  have  no  time 
for  it. 

All  this  arises  from  the  want  of  correct  notions  of  the 
binding  obligation  of  our  social  and  domestic  duties.  The 
main  object  of  life  is  not  to  secure  the  various  gratifications 
of  appetite  or  taste,  but  to  form  such  a  character,  for  our- 
selves and  others,  as  will  secure  the  greatest  amount  of 
present  and  future  happiness.  It  is  of  far  more  conse- 
quence, then,  that  parents  should  be  intelligent,  social, 
affectionate,  and  agreeable  at  home  and  to  their  friends, 
than  that  they  should  earn  money  enough  to  live  in  a  large 
house  and  have  handsome  furniture.  It  is  far  more  need- 
ful for  children  that  a  father  should  attend  to  the  formation 
of  their  character  and  habits,  and  aid  in  developing  their 
social,  intellectual,  and  moral  nature,  than  it  is  that  he 
should  earn  money  to  furnish  them  with  handsome  clothes 
and  a  variety  of  tempting  food.  I 


300  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

It  will  be  wise  for  those  parents  who  find  little  time  to 
attend  to  their  children,  or  to  seek  amusement  and  enjoy- 
ment in  the  domestic  and  social  circle,  because  their  time 
is  so  much  occupied  with  public  cares  or  benevolent  objects, 
to  in  cp.iire  whether  their  first  duty  is  not  to  train  up  their 
own  families  to  be  useful  members  of  society.  A  man  who 
neglects  the  mind  and  morals  of  his  children,  to  take  care 
of  the  public,  is  in  great  danger  of  coming  under  a  similar 
condemnation  to  that  of  him  who,  neglecting  to  provide 
for  his  own  household,  has  "  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse 
than  an  infidel." 

There  are  husbands  and  fathers  who  conscientiously 
subtract  time  from  their  business  to  spend  at  home,  in 
reading  with  their  wives  and  children,  and  in  domestic  amuse- 
ments which  at  once  refresh  and  improve.  The  children 
of  such  parents  will  grow  up  with  a  love  of  home  and 
kindred  which  will  be  the  greatest  safeguard  against  future 
temptations,  as  well  as  the  purest  source  of  earthly 
enjoyment. 

There  are  families,  also,  who  make  it  a  definite  object  to 
keep  up  family  attachments,  after  the  children  are  scattered 
abroad ;  and,  in  some  cases,  secure  the  means  for  doing  this 
by  saving  money  which  would  otherwise  have  been  spent 
for  superfluities  of  food  or  dress.  Some  families  have 
adopted,  for  this  end,  a  practice  which,  if  widely  imitated, 
would  be  productive  of  much  enjoyment.  The  method  is 
this :  On  the  first  day  of  each  month,  some  member  of  the 
family,  at  each  'extreme  point  of  dispersion,  takes  a  folio 
sheet,  and  fills  a  part  of  a  page.  This  is  sealed  and  mailed 
to  the  next  family,"  who  read  it,  add  another  contribution, 
and  then  mail  it  to  the  next.  Thus  the  family  circular, 
once  a  month,  goes  from  each  extreme  to  all  the  members 
of  a  widely-dispersed  family,  and  each  member  becomes  a 
sharer  in  the  joys,  sorrows,  plans,  and  pursuits  of  all  the 
rest.  At  the  same  time,  frequent  family  meetings  are 
sought ;  and  the  expense  thus  incurred  is  cheerfully  met  by 


DOMESTIC  AMUSEMENTS  AND  SOCIAL  DUTIES.         301 

retrenchments  in  other  directions.  The  sacrifice  of  some 
unnecessary  physical  indulgence  will  often  purchase  many 
social  and  domestic  enjoyments,  a  thousand  times  more 
elevating  and  delightful  than  the  retrenched  luxury. 

There  is  no  social  duty  which  the  Supreme  Law-giver 
more  strenuously  urges  than  hospitality  and  kindness  to 
strangers,  who  are  classed  with  the  widow  and  the  fatherless 
as  the  special  objects  of  Divine  tenderness.  There  are  some 
reasons  why  this  duty  peculiarly  demands  attention  from 
the  American  people. 

Reverses  of  fortune,  in  this  land,  are  so  frequent  and  un- 
expected, and  the  habits  of  the  people  are  so  migratory,  that 
there  are  very  many  in  every  part  of  the  country  who,  hav- 
ing seen  all  their  temporal  plans  and  hopes  crushed,  are  now 
pining  among  strangers,  bereft  of  wonted  comforts,  without 
friends,  and  without  the  sympathy  and  society  so  needful  to 
wounded  spirits.  Such,  too  frequently,  sojourn  long  and 
lonely,  with  no  comforter  but  Him  who  "knoweth  the 
heart  of  a  stranger." 

Whenever,  therefore,  new-comers  enter  a  community, 
inquiry  should  immediately  be  made  as  to  whether  they  have 
friends  or  associates,  to  render  sympathy  and  kind  atterv- 
tions ;  and,  when  there  is  any  need  for  it,  the  ministries  of 
kind  neighborliness  should  immediately  be  offered.  And  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  first  days  of  a  stranger's 
sojourn  are  the  most  dreary,  and  that  civility  and  kindness 
are  doubled  in  value  by  being  offered  at  an  early  period* 

In  social  gatherings  the  claims  of  the  stranger  are  too 
apt  to  be  forgotten  ;  especially  in  cases  where  there  are  no 
peculiar  attractions  of  personal  appearance,  or  talents,  or 
high  standing.  Such  a  one  should  be  treated  with  attention, 
because  he  is  a  stranger ;  and  when  communities  learn  to 
act  more  from  principle,  and  less  from  selfish  impulse,  on 
this  subject,  the  sacred  claims  of  the  stranger  wrill  be  less 
frequently  forgotten. 

The  most  agreeable  hospitality  to  visitors  who  become 


802 

inmates  of  a  family,  is  that  which  puts  them  entirely  at 
ease.  This  can  never  be  the  case  where  the  guest  per- 
ceives that  the  order  of  family  arrangement  is  essentially 
altered,  and  that  time,  comfort,  and  convenience  are  sacri- 
ficed for  his  accommodation. 

Offering  the  best  to  visitors,  showing  a  polite  regard  to 
every  wish  expressed,  and  giving  precedence  to  them,  in  all 
matters  of  comfort  and  convenience,  can  be  easily  combined 
with  the  easy  freedom  which  makes  the  stranger  feel  at 
home;  and  this  is  the  perfection  of  hospitable  entertain- 
ment. 


XXIV. 

CARE   OF   THE   AGED. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  illustrations 
of  the  design  of  our  Creator,  in  the  institution  of  the  family 
state,  is  the  preservation  of  the  aged  after  their  faculties 
decay  and  usefulness  in  ordinary  modes  seems  to  be  ended. 
By  most  persons  tin's  period  of  infirmities  and  uselessness  is 
anticipated  with  apprehension,  especially  in  the  case  of 
those  who  have  lived  an  active,  useful  life,  giving  largely  of 
service  to  others,  and  dependent  for  most  resources  of  en- 
joyment on  their  own  energies. 

To  lose  the  resources  of  sight  or  hearing,  to  become  fee- 
ble in  body,  so  as  to  depend  on  the  ministries  of  others,  and 
finally  to  gradually  decay  in  mental  force  and  intelligence, 
to  many  seems  far  worse  than  death.  Multitudes  have 
prayed  to  be  taken  from  this  life  when  their  usefulness  is 
thus  ended. 

But  a  true  view  of  the  design  of  the  family  state,  and  of 
the  ministry  of  the  aged  and  helpless  in  carrying  out  this 
design,  would  greatly  lessen  such  apprehensions,  and  might 
be  made  a  source  of  pure  and  elevated  enjoyment. 

The  Christian  virtues  of  patience  with  the  unreasonable, 
of  self-denying  labor  for  the  weak,  and  of  sympathy  with 
the  afflicted,  are  dependent,  to  a  great  degree,  on  cultivation 
and  habit,  and  these  can  be  gained  only  in  circumstances 
demanding  the  daily  exercise  of  these  graces.  In  this  as- 
pect, continued  life  in  the  aged  and  infirm  should  be  re- 
garded as  a  blessing  and  privilege  to  a  family,  especially  to 
the  young,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  graces  that  are  de- 


304  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

manded  by  that  relation  should  be  made  a  definite  and  in- 
teresting part  of  their  education.  A  few  of  the  methods  to 
be  attempted  for  this  end  will  be  suggested. 

In  the  first  place,  the  object  for  which  the  aged  are  pre- 
served in  life,  when  in  many  cases  they  would  rejoice  to  de- 
part, should  be  definitely  kept  in  recollection,  and  a  sense 
of  gratitude  and  obligation  be  cultivated.  They  should  be 
looked  up  to  and  treated  as  ministers  sustained  by  our 
Heavenly  Father  in  a  painful  experience,  expressly  for  the 
good  of  those  around  them.  This  appreciation  of  their 
ministry  and  usefulness  will  greatly  lessen  their  trials  and 
impart  consolation.  If  in  hours  of  weariness  and  infirmity 
they  wonder  why  they  are  kept  in  a  useless  and  helpless 
state  to  burden  others  around,  they  should  be  assured  that 
they  are  not  useless  ;  and  this  not  only  by  word,  but,  better 
still,  by  the  manifestation  of  those  virtues  which  such  op- 
portunities alone  can  secure. 

Another  mode  of  cheering  the  aged  is  to  engage  them  in 
the  domestic  games  and  sports  which  unite  the  old  and 
the  young  in  amusement.  Many  a  weary  hour  may  thus 
be  enlivened  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned.  And  here 
will  often  occur  opportunities  of  self-denying  benevolence 
in  relinquishing  personal  pursuits  and  gratification  thus  to 
promote  the  enjoyment  of  the  infirm  and  dependent.  Read- 
ing aloud  is  often  a  great  source  of  enjoyment  to  those  who 
by  age  are  deprived  of  reading  for  themselves.  So  the  effort 
to  gather  news  of  the  neighborhood  and  impart  it,  is  an- 
other mode  of  relieving  those  deprived  of  social  gatherings. 

There  is  no  period  in  life  when  those  courtesies  of  good 
breeding  which  recognize  the  relations  of  superior  and  in- 
ferior should  be  more  carefully  cherished  than  when  there 
is  need  of  showing  them  toward  those  of  advancing  age. 
To  those  who  have  controlled  a  household,  and  still  more  to 
those  who  in  public  life  have  been  honored  and  admired, 
the  decay  of  mental  powers  is  peculiarly  trying,  and  every 
effort  should  be  made  to  lessen  the  trial  by  courteous  atten- 


CARE  OF  THE  AGED.  305 

tion  to  their  opinions,  and  by  avoiding  all  attempts  to  con- 
trovert them,  or  to  make  evident  any  weakness  or  fallacy  in 
their  conversation. 

In  regard  to  the  decay  of  bodily  or  mental  faculties,  much 
more  can  be  done  to  prevent  or  retard  them  than  is  gen- 
rally  supposed,  and  some  methods  for  this  end  which 
have  been  gained  by  observation  or  experience  will  be  pre- 
sented. 

As  the  exercise  of  all  our  faculties  tends  to  increase  their 
power,  unless  it  be  carried  to  excess,  it  is  very  important 
that  the  aged  should  be  provided  with  useful  employment, 
suited  to  their  strength  and  capacity.  Nothing  hastens  de- 
cay so  fast  as  to  remove  the  stimulus  of  useful  activity.  It 
should  become  a  study  with  those  who  have  the  care  of  the 
aged  to  interest  them  in  some  useful  pursuit,  and  to  con- 
vince them  that  they  are  in  some  measure  actively  con- 
tributing to  the  general  welfare.  In  the  country  and  in 
families  where  the  larger  part  of  the  domestic  labor  is  done 
without  servants,  it  is  very  easy  to  keep  up  an  interest  in 
domestic  industrial  employments.  The  tending  of  a  small 
garden  in  summer — the  preparation  of  fuel  and  food,  the 
mending  of  household  utensils — these  and  many  other  occu- 
pations of  the  hands  will  keep  alive  activity  and  interest,  in  a 
man ;  while  for  women  there  are  still  more  varied  resources. 
There  is  nothing  that  so  soon  hastens  decay  and  lends 
acerbity  to  age  as  giving  up  all  business  and  responsibility, 
and  every  mode  possible  should  be  devised  to  prevent  this 
result. 

As  age  advances,  all  the  bodily  functions  move  more 
slowly,  and  consequently  the  generation  of  animal  heat, 
by  the  union  of  oxygen  and  carbon  in  the  capillaries,  is  in 
smaller  proportion  than  in  the  midday  of  life.  For  this 
reason  some  practices,  safe  for  the  vigorous,  must  be  relin- 
quished by  the  aged ;  and  one  of  these  is  the  use  of  the 
cold  bath.  It  has  often  been  the  case  that  rheumatism  has 
been  caused  by  neglect  of  this  caution.  More  than  or- 


306 

dinary  care  should  be  taken  to  preserve  animal  heat  in 
the  aged,  especially  in  the  hands  and  the  feet. 

In  many  families  will  be  found  an  aged  brother,  or  sis- 
ter, or  other  relative  who  has  no  home,  and  no  claim  to  a 
refuge  in  the  family  circle  but  that  of  kindred.  Some- 
times they  are  poor  and  homeless,  for  want  of  a  faculty  for 
self-supporting  business ;  and  sometimes  they  have  peculi- 
arities of  person  or  disposition  which  render  their  society 
undesirable.  These  are  cases  where  the  pitying  tenderness 
of  the  Saviour  should  be  remembered,  and  for  his  sake 
patient  kindness  and  tender  care  be  given,  and  he  will 
graciously  accept  it  as  an  offering  of  love  and  duty  to  him- 
self. "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  to  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  ,it  to  me." 

It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  even  parents  in  old  age 
have  had  occasion  to  say  with  the  forsaken  King  Lear, 
"  How  sharper  than  a  serpent's  tooth  it  is  to  have  a  thank- 
less child  !"  It  is  right  training  in  early  life  alone  that 
will  save  from  this. 

In  the  opening  of  China  and  the  probable  influx  of  its 
people,  there  is  one  cause  for  congratulation  to  a  nation 
that  is  failing  in  the  virtue  of  reverence.  The  Chinese  are 
distinguished  above  all  other  nations  for  their  respect  for 
the  aged,  and  especially  for  their  reverence  for  aged  pa- 
rents and  conformity  to  their  authority,  even  to  the  last. 
This  virtue  is  cultivated  to  a  degree  that  is  remarkable, 
and  has  produced  singular  and  favorable  results  on  the 
national  character,  which  it  is  hoped  may  be  imparted  to 
the  land  to  which  they  are  flocking  in  such  m altitudes. 
For  with  all  their  "peculiarities  of  pagan  philosophy  and 
their  oriental  eccentricities  of  custom  and  practical  life, 
they  are  everywhere  renowned  for  their  uniform  and  ele- 
gant courtesy — a  most  commendable  virtue,  and  one  ari- 
sing from  habitual  deference  to  the  aged  more  than  from 
any  other  source. 


XXY. 

THE   CABE   OF    SERVANTS. 

ALTHOUGH  in  earlier  ages  the  highest  born,  wealthiest, 
and  proudest  ladies  were  skilled  in  the  simple  labors  of  the 
household,  the  advance  of  society  toward  luxury  has 
changed  all  that  in  lands  of  aristocracy  and  classes,  and  at 
the  present  time  America  is  the  only  country  where  there 
is  a  class  of  women  who  may  be  described  as  ladies  who  do 
their  own  work.  By  a  lady  we  mean  a  woman  of  educa- 
tion, cultivation,  and  refinement,  of  liberal  tastes  and  ideas, 
who,  without  any  very  material  additions  or  changes,  would 
be  recognized  as  a  lady  in  any  circle  of  the  Old  World  or 
the  New. 

The  existence  of  such  a  class  is  a  fact  peculiar  to  Ameri- 
can society,  a  plain  result  of  the  new  principles  involved  in 
the  doctrine  of  universal  equality. 

When  *he  colonists  first  came  to  this  country,  of  however 
mixed  ingredients  their  ranks  might  have  been  composed, 
and  however  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  feudal  and  aristo- 
cratic ideas,  the  discipline  of  the  wilderness  soon  brought 
them  to  a  democratic  level ;  the  gentleman  felled  the  wood 
for  his  log-cabin  side  by  side  with  the  plowman,  and 
thews  and  sinews  rose  in  the  market.  "  A  man  was  deemed 
honorable  in  proportion  as  he  lifted  his  hand  upon  the  high 
trees  of  the  forest."  So  in  the  interior  domestic  circle. 
Mistress  and  maid,  living  in  a  log-cabin  together,  became 
companions,  and  sometimes  the  maid,  as  the  one  well- trained 
in  domestic  labor,  took  precedence  of  the  mistress.  It  also 


303  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

became  natural  and  unavoidable  that  children  should  begin 
to  work  as  early  as  they  were  capable  of  it. 

The  result  was  a  generation  of  intelligent  people  brought 
up  to  labor  from  necessity,  but  devoting  to  the  problem  of  la- 
bor the  acuteness  of  a  disciplined  brain.  The  mistress,  out- 
done in  sinews  and  muscles  by  her  maid,  kept  her  superior- 
ity by  skill  and  contrivance.  If  she  could  not  lift  a  pail  of 
water,  she  could  invent  methods  which  made  lifting  the 
pail  unnecessary, — if  she  could  not  take  a  hundred  steps 
without  weariness,  she  could  make  twenty  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  a  hundred. 

Slavery,  it  is  true,  was  to  some  extent  introduced  into 
New-England,  but  it  never  suited  the  genius  of  the  people, 
never  struck  deep  root  or  spread  so  as  to  choke  the  good 
seed  of  self -helpfulness.  Many  were  opposed  to  it  from 
conscientious  principle — many  from  far-sighted  thrift, 
and  from  a  love  of  thoroughness  and  well-doing  which  de- 
spised the  rude,  unskilled  work  of  barbarians.  People,  hav- 
ing once  felt  the  thorough  neatness  and  beauty  of  execution 
which  came  of  free,  educated,  and  thoughtful  labor,  could 
not  tolerate  the  clumsiness  of  slavery. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  for  many  years  the  rural  popu- 
lation of  New-England,  as  a  general  rule,  did  their  own 
work,  both  out-doors  and  in.  If  there  were  a  black  man 
or  black  woman  or  bound  girl,  they  were  emphatically  only 
the  helps,  following  humbly  the  steps  of  master  and  mis- 
tress, and  used  by  them  as  instruments  of  lightening  cer- 
tain portions  of  their  toil.  The  master  and  mistress,  with 
their  children,  were  the  head  workers. 

Great  merriment"  has  been  excited  in  the  old  country 
because,  years  ago,  the  first  English  travelers  found  that 
the  class  of  persons  by  them  denominated  servants,  were  in 
America  denominated  help,  or  helpers.  But  the  term  was 
the  very  best  exponent  of  the  state  of  society.  There 
were  few  servants,  in  the  European  sense  of  the 
word  y  there  was  a  society  of  educated  workers,  where  all 


THE   CARE   OF  SEE  VANTS.    .  309 

were  practically  equal,  and  where,  if  there  was  a  deficiency 
in  one  family  and  an  excess  in  another,  a  helper,  not  a  ser- 
vant in  the  European  sense,  was  hired.  Mrs.  Brown,  who 
has  several  sons  and  no  daughters,  enters  into  agreement 
with  Mrs.  Jones,  who  has  several  daughters  and  no  sons. 
She  borrows  a  daughter,  and  pays  her  good  wages  to  help 
in  her  domestic  toil,  and  sends  a  son  to  help  the  labors  of 
Mr.  Jones.  These  two  young  people  go  into  the  families 
in  which  they  are  to  be  employed  in  all  respects  as  equals 
and  companions,  and  so  the  work  of  the  community  is 
equalized.  Hence  arose,  and  for  many  years  continued,  a 
state  of  society  more  nearly  solving  than  any  other  ever 
did  the  problem  of  combining  the  highest  culture  of  the 
mind  with  th  •  highest  culture  of  the  muscles  and  the  phy- 
sical faculties. 

Then  were  to  be  seen  families  of  daughters,  handsome, 
strong  women,  rising  eacn  day  to  their  in-door  work  with 
cheerful  alertness — one  to  sweep  the  room,  another  to  make 
the  fire,  while  a  third  prepared  the  breakfast  for  the  father 
and  brothers  who  were  going  out  to  manly  labor :  and  they 
chatted  meanwhile  of  books,  studies,  embroidery ;  discussed 
the  last  new  poem,  or  some  historical  topic  started  by  graver 
reading,  or  perhaps  a  rural  ball  that  was  to  come  off  next 
week.  They  spun  with  the  book  tied  to  the  distaff;  they 
wove  ;  they  did  all  manner  of  fine  needle- work ;  they  made 
lace,  painted  flowers,  and,  in  short,  in  the  boundless  con- 
sciousness of  activity,  invention,  and  perfect  health,  set 
themselves  to  any  work  they  had  ever  read  or  thought  of. 
A  bride  in  those  days  was  married  with  sheets  and  table- 
cloths of  her  own  weaving,  with  counterpanes  and  toilet- 
covers  wrought  in  divers  embroidery  by  her  own  and  her  sis- 
ters' hands.  The  amount  of  fancy-work  done  in  our  days 
by  girls  who  have  nothing  else  to  do,  will  not  equal  what 
was  done  by  these  who  performed,  besides,  among  them, 
the  whole  work  of  the  .family. 

In  those  former  days  most  women  were  in  good  health, 


310  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

debility  and  disease  being  the  exception.  Then,  too,  was 
seen  the  economy  of  daylight  and  its  pleasures.  They 
were  used  to  early  rising,  and  would  not  lie  in  bed,  if  they 
could.  Long  years  of  practice  made  them  familiar  with 
the  shortest,  neatest,  most  expeditious  method  of  doing 
every  household  office,  so  that  really  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  in  the  house  there  seemed,  to  a  looker-on,  to 
be  nothing  to  do.  They  rose  in  the  morning  and  dis- 
patched husband,  father,  and  brothers  to  the  farm  or  wood- 
lot  ;  went  sociably  about,  chatting  with  each  other,  skimmed 
the  milk,  made  the  butter,  and  turned  the  cheeses.  The 
forenoon  was  long ;  ten  to  one,  all  the  so-called  morning 
work  over,  they  had  leisure  for  an  hour's  sewing  or  reading 
before  it  was  time  to  start  the  dinner  preparations.  By  two 
o'clock  the  house-work  was  done,  and  they  had  the  long 
afternoon  for  books,  needle-work,  or  drawing — for  perhaps 
there  was  one  with  a  gift  at  her  pencil.  •  Perhaps  one  read 
aloud  while  others  sewed,  and  managed  in  that  way  to 
keep  up  a  great  deal  of  reading. 

It  is  said  that  women  who  have  been  accustomed  to  do- 
ing their  own  work  become  hard  mistresses.  They  are 
certainly  more  sure  of  the  ground  they  stand  on — they  are 
less  open  to  imposition — they  can  speak  and  act  in  their  own 
houses  more  as  those  "  having  authority,"  and  therefore  are 
less  afraid  to  exact  what  is  justly  their  due,  and  less  willing 
to  endure  impertinence  and  unfaithfulness.  Their  general 
error  lies  in  expecting  that  any  servant  ever  will  do  as  well 
for  them  as  they  will  do  for  themselves,  and  that  an  un- 
trained, undisciplined  human  being  ever  can  do  house-work, 
or  any  other  work,  with  the  neatness  and  perfection  that  a 
person  of  trained  intelligence  can. 

It  has  been  remarked  in  our  armies  that  the  men  of  cul- 
tivation, though  bred  in  delicate  and  refined  spheres,  can  bear 
up  under  the  hardships  of  camp-life  better  and  longer  than 
rough  laborers.  The  reason  is,  that  an  educated  mind 
knows  how  to  use  and  save  its  body,  to  work  it  and  spare 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  311 

it,  as  an  uneducated  mind  can  not ;  and  so  the  college-bred 
youth  brings  himself  safely  through  fatigues  which  kill  the 
unreflective  laborer. 

Cultivated,  intelligent  women0,  who  are  brought  up  to  do 
the  work  of  their  own  families,  are  labor-saving  institutions. 
They  make  the  head  save  the  wear  of  the  muscles.  By 
forethought,  contrivance,  system,  and  arrangement  they 
lessen  the  amount  to  be  done,  and  do  it  with  less  expense 
of  time  and  strength  than  others.  The  old  New-England 
motto,  Get  your  work  done  up  in  the  forenoon,  applied  to  an 
amount  of  work  which  would  keep  a  common  Irish  servant 
toiling  from  daylight  to  sunset. 

A  lady  living  in  one  of  our  obscure  New-England  towns, 
where  there  were  no  servants  to  be  hired,  at  last,  by  sending 
to  a  distant  city,  succeeded  in  procuring  a  raw  Irish  maid-of- 
all-work,  a  creature  of  immense  bone  and  muscle,  but  of 
heavy,  unawakened  brain.  In  one  fortnight  she  established 
such  a  reign  of  Chaos  and  old  Night  in  the  kitchen  and 
through  the  house  that  her  mistress,  a  delicate  woman,  en- 
cumbered with  the  care  of  young  children,  began  seriously 
to  think  that  she  made  more  work  each  day  than  she  per- 
formed, and  dismissed  her.  What  was  now  to  be  done? 
Fortunately,  the  daughter  of  a  neighboring  farmer  was  go- 
ing to  be  married  in  six  months,  and  wanted  a  little  ready 
money  for  her  trousseau.  The  lady  was  informed  that 
Miss  So-and-so  would  come  to  her,  not  as  a  servant,  but 
as  hired  "  help."  She  was  fain  to  accept  any  help  with 
gladness. 

Forthwith  came  into  the  family-circle  a  tall,  well-dressed 
young  person,  grave,  unobtrusive,  self-respecting,  yet  not  in 
the  least  presuming,  who  sat  at  the  family  table  and  ob- 
served all  its  decorums  with  the  modest  self-possession  of  a 
lady.  The  new-comer  took  a  survey  of  the  labors  of  a 
family  of  ten  members,  including  four  or  five  young  chil- 
dren, and,  looking,  seemed  at  once  to  throw  them  into  sys- 
tem; matured  her  plans,  arranged  her  hours  of  washing, 


312  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN  S  HOME. 

ironing,  baking,  and  cleaning;  rose  early,  moved  deftly; 
and  in  a  single  day  the  slatternly  and  littered  kitchen 
assumed  that  neat,  orderly  appearance  that  so  often  strikes 
one  in  New-England  farmhouses.  The  work  seemed  to  be 
all  gone.  Every  thing  was  nicely  washed,  brightened,  put 
in  place,  and  staid  in  place ;  the  floors,  when  cleaned,  re- 
mained clean ;  the  work  was  always  done,  and  not  doing ; 
and  every  afternoon  the  young  lady  sat  neatly  dressed  in 
her  own  apartment,  either  quietly  writing  letters  to  her  be- 
trothed, or  sewing  on  her  bridal  outfit.  Such  is  the  result 
of  employing  those  who  have  been  brought  up  to  do  their 
own  work.  That  tall,  fine-looking  girl,  for  aught  we  know, 
may  yet  be  mistress  of  a  fine  house  on  Fifth  Avenue ;  and 
if  she  is,  she  will,  we  fear,  prove  rather  an  exacting  mis- 
tress to  Irish  Bridget ;  but  she  will  never  be  threatened  by 
her  cook  and  chambermaid,  after  the  first  one  or  two  have 
tried  the  experiment. 

Those  remarkable  women  of  old  were  made  by  circum- 
stances. There  were,  comparatively  speaking,  no  servants 
to  be  had,  and  so  children  were  trained  to  habits  of  indus- 
try and  mechanical  adroitness  from  the  cradle,  and  every 
household  process  was  reduced  to  the  very  minimum  of  labor. 
Every  step  required  in  a  process  was  counted,  every  move- 
ment calculated ;  and  she  who  took  ten  steps,  when  ore 
would  do,  lost  her  reputation  for  "  faculty."  Certainly  su^h 
an  early  drill  was  of  use  in  developing  the  health  and  the 
bodily  powers,  as  well  as  in  giving  precision  to  the  practi- 
cal mental  faculties.  All  household  economies  were  ar- 
ranged with  equal  niceness  in  those  thoughtful  minds.  A 
trained  housekeeper  knew  just  how  many  sticks  of  hickory 
of  a  certain  size  were  required  to  heat  her  oven,  and  how 
many  of  each  different  kind  of  wood.  She  knew  by  a  sort 
of  intuition  just  what  kinds  of  food  would  yield  the  most 
palatable  nutriment  with  the  least  outlay  of  accessories  in 
cooking.  She  knew  to  a  minute  the  time  when  each  arti- 
cle must  go  into  and  be  withdrawn  from  her  oven ;  and  if 


THE   CARE    OF  SERVANTS.  313 

she  could  only  lie  in  her  chamber  and  direct,  she  could 
guide  an  intelligent  child  through  the  processes  with 
mathematical  certainty. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  that  any  thing  but  early  train- 
ing and  long  experience  can  produce  these  results,  and  it 
is  earnestly  to  be  wished  that  the  grandmothers  of  New- 
England  had  written  down  their  experiences  for  our  chil- 
dren ;  they  would  have  been  a  mine  of  maxims  and  tradi- 
tions better  than  any  other ."  traditions  of  the  elders  "  which 
we  know  of. 

In  this  country,  our  democratic  institutions  have  removed 
the  superincumbent  pressure  which  in  the  Old  World  con- 
fines the  servants  to  a  regular  orbit.  They  come  here  feel- 
ing that  this  is  somehow  a  land  of  liberty,  and  with  very 
dim  and  confused  notions  of  what  liberty  is.  They  are 
very  extensively  the  raw,  untrained  Irish  peasantry,  and  the 
wonder  is,  that,  with  all  the  unreasoning  heats  and  preju- 
dices of  the  Celtic  blood,  all  the  necessary  ignorance  and 
rawness,  there  should  be  the  measure  of  comfort  and  suc- 
cess there  is  in  our  domestic  arrangements. 

But,  as  long  as  things  are  so,  there  will  be  constant 
changes  and  interruptions  in  every  domestic  establishment, 
and  constantly  recurring  interregnums  when  the  mistress 
must  put  her  own  hand  to  the  work,  whether  the  hand  be 
a  trained  or  an  untrained  one.  As  matters  now  are,  the 
young  housekeeper  takes  life  at  the  hardest.  She  has  very 
little  strength, — no  experience  to  teach  her  how  to  save  her 
strength.  She  knows  nothing  experimentally  of  the  sim- 
plest processes  necessary  to  keep  her  family  comfortably 
fed  and  clothed ;  and  she  has  a  way  of  looking  at  all  these 
things  which  makes  them  particularly  hard  and  distasteful 
to  her.  She  does  not  escape  being  obliged  to  do  house- work 
at  intervals,  but  she  does  it  in  a  weak,  blundering,  confused 
way,  that  makes  it  twice  as  hard  and  disagreeable  as  it 
need  be. 

Now,  if  every  young  woman  learned  to  do  house-work, 


314  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S   HOME. 

and  cultivated  lier  practical  faculties  in  early  life,  she 
would,  in  the  first  place,  be  much  more  likely  to  keep  her 
servants,  and,  in  the  second  place,  if  she  lost  them  tempo- 
rarily, would  avoid  all  that  wear  and  tear  of  the  nervous 
system  which  comes  from  constant  ill-success  in  those  de- 
partments on  which  family  health  and  temper  mainly 
depend.  This  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  our  American 
life,  which  require  a  peculiar  training.  Why  not  face  it 
sensibly  ? 

Our  land  is  now  full  of  motorpathic  institutions  to  which 
women  are  sent  at  a  great  expense  to  have  hired  operators 
stretch  and  exercise  their  inactive  muscles.  They  lie  for 
hours  to  have  their  feet  twigged,  their  arms  flexed,  and  all 
the  different  muscles  of  the  body  worked  for  them,  because 
they  are  so  flaccid  and  torpid  that  the  powers  of  life  do  not 
go  on.  Would  it  not  be  quite  as  cheerful,  and  a  less  expen- 
sive process,  if  young  girls  from  early  life  developed  the 
muscles  in  sweeping,  dusting,  starching,  ironing,  and  all 
the  multiplied  domestic  processes  which  our  grandmothers 
knew  of  ?  A  woman  who  did  all  these,  and  diversified  the 
intervals  with  spinning  on  the  great  and  little  wheel,  did 
not  need  the  gymnastics  of  Dio  Lewis  or  of  the  Swedish 
Movement  Cure,  which  really  are  a  necessity  now.  Does  it 
not  seem  poor  economy  to  pay  servants  for  -letting  our 
muscles  grow  feeble,  and  then  to  pay  operators  to  exercise 
them  for  us  ?  I  will  venture  to  say  that  our  grandmothers 
in  a  week  went  -over  every  movement  that  any  gymnast 
has  invented,  and  went  over  them  to  some  productive 
purpose  too. 

The  first  business  of  a  housekeeper  in  America  is  that  of 
a  teacher.  She  can  have  a  good  table  only  by  having  prac- 
tical knowledge,  and  tact  in  imparting  it.  If  she  under- 
stands her  business  practically  and  experimentally,  her  eye 
detects  at  once  the  weak  spot ;  it  requires  only  a  little  tact, 
some  patience,  some  clearness  in  giving  directions,  and  all 
comes  right. 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  335 

If  we  carry  a  watch  to  a  watchmaker,  and  undertake  to 
show  him  how  to  regulate  the  machinery,  he  laughs  and 
goes  on  his  own  way ;  but  if  a  brother-machinist  makes 
suggestions,  he  listens  respectfully.  So,  when  a  woman 
who  knows  nothing  of  woman's  work  undertakes  to  instruct 
one  who  knows  more  than  she  does,  she  makes  no  impres- 
sion ;  but  a  woman  who  has  been  trained  experimentally, 
and  shows  she  understands  the  matter  thoroughly,  is  listened 
to  with  respect. 

Let  a  woman  make  her  own  bread  for  one  month,  and, 
simple  as  the  process  seems,  it  will  take  as  long  as  that  to 
get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  possibilities  in  the 
case;  but  after  that,  she  will  be  able  to  command  good 
bread  by  the  aid  of  all  sorts  of  servants ;  in  other  words,  will 
be  a  thoroughly  prepared  teacher. 

Although  bread-making  seems  a  simple  process,  it  yet  re- 
quires delicate  care  and  watchfulness.  There  are  fifty  ways 
to  spoil  good  bread ;  there  are  a  hundred  little  things  to  be 
considered  and  allowed  for,  that  require  accurate  observa- 
tion and  experience.  The  same  process  that  will  raise  good 
bread  in  cold  weather  will  make  sour  bread  in  the  heat  of 
summer;  different  qualities  of  flour  require  variations  in 
treatment,  as  also  different  sorts  and  conditions  of  yeast ; 
and  when  all  is  done,  the  baking  presents  another  series  of 
possibilities  which  require  exact  attention. 

A  well-trained  mind,  accustomed  to  reflect,  analyze,  and 
generalize,  has  an  advantage  over  uncultured  minds  even  of 
double  experience.  Poor  as  your  cook  is,  she  now  knows 
more  of  her  business  than  you  do.  After  a  very  brief  period 
of  attention  and  experiment,  you  will  not  only  know  more 
than  she  does,  but  you  will  convince  her  that  you  do,  which 
is  quite  as  much  to  the  purpose. 

In  the  same  manner,  lessons  must  be  given  on  the 
washing  of  silver  and  the  making  of  beds.  Good  servants 
do  not  often  come  to  us ;  they  must  be  made  by  patience 
and  training ;  and  if  a  girl  has  a  good  disposition  and  a 


316  THE  AZTERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

reasonable  degree  of  handiness,  and  the  housekeeper  under- 
stands her  profession,  a  good  servant  may  be  made  out  of 
an  indifferent  one.  Some  of  the  best  girls  have  been  those 
who  came  directly  from  the  ship,  with  no  preparation  but 
docility  and  some  natural  quickness.  The  hardest  cases  to 
be  managed  are  not  of  those  who  have  been  taught  nothing, 
but  of  those  who  have  been  taught  wrongly — who  come 
self-opinionated,  with  ways  which  are  distasteful,  and  con- 
trary to  the  genius  of  one's  housekeeping.  Such  require 
that  their  mistress  shall  understand  at  least  so  much  of  the 
actual  conduct  of  affairs  as  to  prove  to  the  servant  that 
there  are  better  ways  than  those  in  which  she  has  been 
trained. 

So  much  has  been  said  of  the  higher  sphere  of  woman, 
and  so  much  has  been  done  to  find  some  better  work  for 
her  that,  insensibly,  almost  every  body  begins  to  feel  that  it 
is  rather  degrading  for  a  woman  in  good  society  to  be  much 
tied  down  to  family  affairs ;  especially  since  in  these  Wo- 
man's Hights  Conventions  there  is  so  much  dissatisfaction 
expressed  at  those  who  would  confine  her  ideas  to  the 
kitchen  and  nursery. 

Yet  these  Woman's  Eights  Conventions  are  a  protest 
against  many  former  absurd,  unreasonable  ideas — the  mere 
physical  and  culinary  idea  of  womanhood  as  connected  only 
with  puddings  and  shirt-buttons,  the  unjust  and  unequal 
burdens  which  the  laws  of  harsher  ages  had  cast  upon  the 
sex.  Many  of  the  women  connected  with  these  movements 
are  as  superior  in  every  thing  properly  womanly  as  they 
are  in  exceptional  talent  and  culture.  There  is  no  manner 
of  doubt  that  the  sphere  of  woman  is  properly  to  be 
enlarged.  Every  woman  has  rights  as  a  human  being 
which  belong  to  no  sex,  and  ought  to  be  as  freely  conceded 
to  her  as  if  she  were  a  man, — and  first  and  foremost,  the 
great  right  of  doing  any  thing  which  God  and  nature  evi- 
dently have  fitted  her  to  excel  in.  If  she  be  made  a  natural 
orator,  like  Miss  Dickinson,  or  an  astronomer,  like  Mrs. 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  317 

Somerville,  or  a  singer,  like  Grisi,  let  not  the  technical  rules 
of  womanhood  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  her  free  use  of  her 
powers. 

Still,  per  contra,  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  crude,  dis- 
agreeable talk  in  these  conventions,  and  too  great  tendency 
of  the  age  to  make  the  education  of  woman  anti-domestic. 
It  seems  as  if  the  world  never  could  advance,  except  like 
ships  under  a  head- wind,  tacking  and  going  too  far,  now  in 
this  direction,  and  now  in  the  opposite.  Our  common- 
school  system  now  rejects  sewing  from  the  education  of 
girls,  which  very  properly  used  to  occupy  many  hours  daily 
in  school  a  generation  ago.  The  daughters  of  laborers  and 
artisans  are  put  through  algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry, 
and  the  higher  mathematics,  to  the  entire  neglect  of  that 
learning  which  belongs  distinctively  to  woman.  A  girl  of- 
ten can  not  keep  pace  with  her  class,  if  she  gives  any  time 
to  domestic  matters ;  and  accordingly  she  is  excused  from 
them  all  during  the  whole  term  of  her  education.  The  boy 
of  a  family,  at  an  early  age,  is  put  to  a  trade,  or  the  labors  of 
a  farm;  the  father  becomes  impatient  of  his  support,  and 
requires  of  him  to  take  care  for  himself.  Hence  an  in- 
terrupted education — learning  coming  by  snatches  in  the 
winter  months  or  in  the  intervals  of  work. 

As  the  result,  the  young  women  in  some  of  our  country 
towns  are,  in  mental  culture,  much  in  advance  of  the  males 
of  the  same  household ;  but  with  this  comes  a  physical  deli- 
cacy, the  result  of  an  exclusive  use  of  the  brain  and  a 
neglect  of  the  muscular  system,  with  great  inefficiency  in 
practical  domestic  duties.  The  race  of  strong,  hardy,  cheer- 
ful girls,  that  used  to  grow  up  in  country  places,  and  made 
the  bright,  neat,  New-England  kitchens  of  old  times — the 
girls  that  could  wash,  iron,  brew,  bake,  harness  a  horse  and 
drive  him,  no  less  than  braid  straw,  embroider,  draw,  paint, 
and  read  innumerable  books — this  race  of  women,  pride  of 
olden  time,  is  daily  lessening ;  and  in  their  stead  come  the 
fragile,  easily-fatigued,  languid  girls  of  a  modern  age, 


318  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

drilled  in  book-learning,  ignorant  of  common  things.  Tho 
great  danger  of  all  this,  and  of  the  evils  that  come  from  it, 
is,  that  society,  by  and  by,  will  turn  as  blindly  against  female 
intellectual  culture  as  it  now  advocates  it,  and  having 
worked  disproportionately  one  way,  will  work  dispropor- 
tionately in  the  opposite  direction. 

Domestic  service  is  the  great  problem  of  life  here  in  Amer- 
ica ;  the  happiness  of  families,  their  thrift,  well-being,  and 
comfort,  are  more  affected  by  this  than  by  any  one  thing  else. 
The  modern  girls,  as  they  have  been  brought  up,  can  not 
perform  the  labor  of  their  own  families  as  in  those  simpler, 
old-fashioned  days ;  and  what  is  worse,  they  have  no  practical 
skill  with  which  to  instruct  servants,  who  come  to  us,  as  a 
class,  raw  and  untrained.  In  the  present  state  of  prices, 
the  board  of  a  domestic  costs  double  her  wages,  and  the 
waste  she  makes  is  a  more  serious  matter  still. 

Many  of  the  domestic  evils  in  America  originate  in  the 
fact  that,  while  society  here  is  professedly  based  on  new 
principles  which  ought  to  make  social  life  in  every  respect 
different  from  the  life  of  the  Old  World,  yet  these  prin- 
ciples have  never  been  so  thought  out  and  applied  as 
to  give  consistency  and  harmony  to  our  daily  relations. 
America  starts  with  a  political  organization  based  on  a 
declaration  of  the  primitive  freedom  and  equality  of 
all  men.  Every  human  being,  according  to  this  principle, 
stands  on  the  same  natural  level  with  every  other,  and  has 
the  same  chance  to  rise  according  to  the  degree  of  power  or 
capacity  given  by  the  Creator.  All  our  civil  institutions 
are  designed  to  preserve  this  equality,  as  far  as  possible, 
from  generation  to  generation :  there  is  no  entailed  prop- 
erty, there  are  no  hereditary  titles,  no  monopolies,  no  privi- 
leged classes — all  are  to  be  as  free  to  rise  and  fall  as  the 
waves  of  the  sea. . 

The  condition  of  domestic  service,  however,  still  retains 
about  it  something  of  the  influences  from  feudal  times,  and 
from  the  near  presence  of  slavery  in  neighboring  States. 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  310 

All  English  literature  of  the  world  describes  domestic 
service  in  the  old  feudal  spirit  and  with  the  old  feudal 
language,  which  regarded  the  master  as  belonging  to  a 
privileged  class  and  the  servant  to  an  inferior  one.  There 
is  not  a  play,  not  a  poem,  not  a  novel,  not  a  history,  that 
does  not  present  this  view.  The  master's  rights,  like  the 
rights  of  kings,  were  supposed  to  rest  in  his  being  born  in  a 
superior  rank.  The  good  servant  was  one  who,  from  child- 
hood, had  learned  "  to  order  himself  lowly  and  reverently 
to  all  his  betters."  When  New-England  brought  to  these 
shores  the  theory  of  democracy,  she  brought,  in  the  persons 
of  the  first  pilgrims,  the  habits  of  thought  and  of  action 
formed  in  aristocratic  communities.  Winthrop's  Journal, 
and  all  the  old  records  of  the  earlier  colonists,  show  house- 
holds where  masters  and  mistresses  stood  on  the  "  right  di- 
vine" of  the  privileged  classes,  howsoever  they  might  have 
risen  up  against  authorities  themselves. 

The  first  consequence  of  this  state  of  things  was  a  uni- 
versal rejection  of  domestic  service  in  all  classes  of  Ameri-« 
can-born  society.  For  a  generation  or  two  there  was,  in- 
deed, a  sort  of  interchange  of  family  strength, — sons  and 
daughters  engaging  in  the  service  of  neighboring  families, 
in  default  of  a  sufficient  working-force  of  their  own,  but 
always  on  conditions  of  strict  equality.  The  assistant  was 
to  share  the  table,  the  family  sitting-room,  and  every  honor 
and  attention  that  might  be  claimed  by  son  or  daughter. 
When  families  increased  in  refinement  and  education  so  as 
to  make  these  conditions  of  close  intimacy  with  more  un- 
culture.d  neighbors  disagreeable,  they  had  to  choose  between 
such  intimacies  and  the  performance  of  their  own  domestic 
toil.  No  wages  could  induce  a  son  or  daughter  of  Ne\*  • 
England  to  take  the  condition  of  a  servant  on  terms  which 
they  thought  applicable  to  that  of  a  slave.  The  slightest 
hint  of  a  separate  table  was  resented  as  an  insult ;  not  to 
enter  the  front  door,  and  not  to  sit  in  the  front  parlor  on 
state  occasions,  was  bitterly  commented  on  as  a  personal 
indignity. 


320 

The  well-taught,  self-respecting  daughters  of  farmers, 
the  class  most  valuable  in  domestic  service,  gradually  re- 
tired from  it.  They  preferred  any  other  employment,  how- 
ever laborious.  Beyond  all  doubt,  the  labors  of  a  well-regu- 
lated family  are  more  healthy,  more  cheerful,  more  inter- 
esting, because  less  monotonous,  than  the  mechanical  toils 
of  a  factory  ;  yet  the  girls  of  New-England,  with  one  con- 
sent, preferred  the  factory,  and  left  the  whole  business  of 
domestic  service  to  a  foreign  population ;  and  they  did  it 
mainly  because  they  would  not  take  positions  in  families 
as  an  inferior  laboring-class  by  the  side  of  others  of  their 
own  age  who  assumed  as  their  prerogative  to  live  without 
labor. 

"  I  can't  let  you  have  one  of  my  daughters,"  said  an 
energetic  matron  to  her  neighbor  from  the  city,  who  was 
seeking  for  a  servant  in  her  summer  vacation;  "if  you 
hadn't  daughters  of  your  own,  may  be  I  would ;  but  my 
girls  are  not  going  to  work  so  that  your  girls  may  live  in 
.  idleness." 

It  was  vain  to  offer  money.  "  We  don't  need  your  money, 
ma'am  ;  we  can  support  ourselves  in  other  ways ;  my  girls 
can  braid  straw,  and  bind  shoes,  but  they  are  not  going  to 
be  slaves  to  any  body." 

In  the  Irish  and  German  servants  who  took  the  place  of 
Americans  in  families,  there  was,  to  begin  with,  the  tradi- 
tion of  education  in  favor  of  a  higher  class ;  but  even  the 
foreign  population  became  more  or  less  infected  with  the 
spirit  of  democracy.  They  came  to  this  country  with 
vague  notions  of  freedom  and  equality,  and  in  ignorant  and 
uncultivated  people  such  ideas  are  often  more  unreasonable 
for  being  vague.  They  did  not,  indeed,  claim  a  seat  at  the 
table  and  in  the  parlor,  but  they  repudiated  many  of  those 
habits  of  respect  and  courtesy  which  belonged  to  their 
former  condition,  and  asserted  their  own  will  and  way  in 
the  round,  unvarnished  phrase  which  they  supposed  to  be 
their  right  as  republican  citizens.  Life  became  a  sort  of 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  82] 

domestic  wrangle  and  struggle  between  the  employers, 
who  secretly  confessed  their  weakness,  but  endeavored 
openly  to  assume  the  air  and  bearing  of  authority,  and 
the  employed,  who  knew  their  power  and  insisted  on  their 
privileges. 

From  this  cause  domestic  service  in  America  has  had  less 
of  mutual  kindliness  than  in  old  countries.  Its  terms  have 
been  so  ill-understood  and  defined  that  both  parties  have  as- 
sumed the  defensive ;  and  a  common  topic  of  conversation 
in  American  female  society  has  often  been  the  general  ser- 
vile war  which  in  one  form  or  another  was  going  on  in 
their  different  families — a  war  as  interminable  as  would  be 
a  struggle  between  aristocracy  and  common  people,  unde- 
fined by  any  bill  of  rights  or  constitution,  and  therefore 
opening  fields  for  endless  disputes. 

In  England,  the  class  who  go  to  service  are.  a  class,  and 
service  is  a  profession ;  the  distance  between  them  and  their 
employers  is  so  marked  and  defined,  and  all  the  customs 
and  requirements  of  the  position  are  so  perfectly  under- 
stood, that  the  master  or  mistress  has  no  fear  of  being  com- 
promised by  condescension,  and  no  need  of  the  external  voice 
or  air  of  authority.  The  higher  up  in  the  social  scale  one 
goes,  the  more  courteous  seems  to  become  the  intercourse 
of  master  and  servant;  the  more  perfect  and  real  the 
power,  the  more  is  it  veiled  in  outward  expression — com- 
mands are  phrased  as  requests,  and  gentleness  of  voice  and 
manner  covers  an  authority  which  no  one  would  think  of 
offending  without  trembling. 

But  in  America  all  is  undefined.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  no  class  who  mean  to  make  domestic  service  a  pro- 
fession to  live  and  die  in.  It  is  universally  an  expedient,  a 
stepping-stone  to  something  higher ;  your  best  servants  al- 
ways have  some  thing  else  in  view  as  soon  as  they  have  laid 
by  a  little  money ;  some  form  of  independence  which  shall 
give  them  a  home  of  their  own  is  constantly  in  mind. 
Families  look  forward  to  the  buying  of  landed  homesteads, 


o22  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

and  the  scattered  brothers  and  sisters  work  awhile  in  do- 
mestic service  to  gain  the  common  fund  for  the  purpose ; 
your  seamstress  intends  to  become  a  dressmaker,  and  take 
in  work  at  her  own  house  ;  your  cook  is  pondering  a  mar- 
riage with  the  baker,  which  shall  transfer  her  toils  from 
your  cooking-stove  to  her  own. 

Young  women  are  eagerly  rushing  into  every  other  em- 
ployment, till  feminine  trades  and  callings  are  all  over- 
stocked. We  are  continually  harrowed  with  tales  of  the 
sufferings  of  distressed  needle-women,  of  the  exactions  and 
extortions  practiced  on  the  frail  sex  in  the  many  branches 
of  labor  and  trade  at  which  they  try  their  hands  ;  and  yet 
women  will  encounter  all  these  chances  of  ruin  and  starva- 
tion rather  than  make  up  their  minds  to  permanent  domes- 
tic service. 

Now,  what  is  the  matter  with  domestic  service  ?  One 
would  think,  on  the  face  of  it,  that  a  calling  which  gives  a 
settled  home,  a  comfortable  room,  rent-free,  with  fire  and 
lights,  good  board  and  lodging,  and  steady,  well-paid  wages, 
would  certainly  offer  more  attractions  than  the  making  of 
shirts  for  tenpence,  with  all  the  risks  of  providing  one's 
own  sustenance  and  shelter. 

Is  it  not  mainly  from  the  want  of  a  definite  idea  of  the 
true  position  of  a  servant  under  our  democratic  institu- 
tions that  domestic  service  is  so  shunned  and  avoided  in 
America,  and  that  it  is  the  very  last  thing  which  an  intelli- 
gent young  woman  will  look  to  for  a  living  ?  It  is  more 
the  want  of  personal  respect  toward  those  in  that  position 
than  the  labor  incident  to  it  which  repels  our  people  from 
it.  Many  would  be  willing  to  perform  these  labors,  but 
they  are  not  willing  to  place  themselves  in  a  situation 
where  their  self-respect  is  hourly  wounded  by  the  implica- 
tion of  a  degree  of  inferiority,  which  does  not  follow  any  kind 
of  labor  or  service  in  this  country  but  that  of  the  family. 

There  exists  in  the  minds  of  employers  an  unsuspected 
spirit  of  superiority,  which  is  stimulated  into  an  active 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  323 

form  by  the  resistance  which  democracy  inspires  in  the 
working-class.  Many  families  think  of  servants  only  as  a 
necessary  evil,  their  wages  as  exactions,  and  all  that  is  al- 
lowed them  as  so  much  taken  from  the  family ;  and  they 
seek  in  every  way  to  get  from  them  as  much  and  to  give 
them  as  little  as  possible.  Their  rooms  are  the  neglected, 
ill-furnished,  incommodious  ones — and  the  kitchen  is  the 
most  cheerless  and  comfortless  place  in  the  house. 

Other  families,  more  good-natured  and  liberal,  provide 
their  domestics  with  more  suitable  accommodations,  and 
are  more  indulgent;  but  there  is  still  a  latent  spirit  of 
something  like  contempt  for  the  position.  That  they  treat 
their  servants  with  so  much  consideration  seems  to  them  a 
merit  entitling  them  to  the  most  prostrate  gratitude ;  and 
they  are  constantly  disappointed  and  shocked  at  that  want 
of  sense  of  inferiority  on  the  part  of  these  people  which 
leads  them  to  appropriate  pleasant  rooms,  good  furniture, 
and  good  living  as  mere  matters  of  common  justice. 

It  seems  to  be  .a  constant  surprise  to  some  employers  that 
servants  should  insist  on  having  the  same  human  wants  as 
themselves.  Ladies  who  yawn  in  their  elegantly  furnished 
parlors,  among  books  and  pictures,  if  they  have  not  com- 
pany, parties,  or  opera  to  diversify  the  evening,  seem  as- 
tonished and  half  indignant  that  cook  and  chambermaid 
are  more  disposed  to  go  out  for  an  evening  gossip  than  to 
sit  on  hard  chairs  in  the  kitchen  where  'they  have  been  toil- 
ing all  day.  The  pretty  chambermaid's  anxieties  about  her 
dress,  the  minutes  she  spends  at  her  small  and  not  very 
clear  mirror,  are  sneeringly  noticed  by  those  whose  toilet- 
cares  take  up  serious  hours ;  and  the  question  has  never  ap- 
parently occurred  to  them  why  a  serving-maid  should  not 
want  to  look  pretty  as  well  as  her  mistress.  She  is  a  wo- 
man as  well  as  they,  with  all  a  woman's  wants  and  weak- 
nesses ;  and  her  dress  is  as  much  to  her  as  theirs  to  them. 

A  vast  deal  of  trouble  among  servants  arises  from  im- 
pertinent interferences  and  petty  tyrannical  exactions  on  the 


324  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN* S  HOME. 

part  of  employers.  Now,  the  authority  of  the  master  and 
mistress  of  a  house  in  regard  to  their  domestics  extends 
simply  to  the  things  they  have  contracted  to  do  and  the 
hours  during  which  they  have  contracted  to  serve ;  other- 
wise than  this,  they  have  no  more  right  to  interfere  with 
them  in  the  disposal  of  their  time  than  with  any  mechanic 
whom  they  employ.  They  have,  indeed,  a  right  to  regulate 
the  hours  of  their  own  household,  and  servants  can  choose 
between  conformity  to  these  hours  and  the  loss  of  their 
situation ;  but,  within  reasonable  limits,  their  right  to  come 
and  go  at  their  own  discretion,  in  their  own  time,  should  be 
unquestioned. 

If  employers  are  troubled  by  the  fondness  of  their  ser- 
vants for  dancing,  evening  company,  and  late  hours,  the 
proper  mode  of  proceeding  is  to  make  these  matters  a  sub- 
ject of  distinct  contract  in  hiring.  The  more  strictly  and 
perfectly  the  business  matters  of  the  first  engagement  of 
domestics  are  conducted,  the  more  likelihood  there  is  of 
mutual  quiet  and  satisfaction  in  the  relation.  It  is  quite 
competent  to  every  housekeeper  to  say  what  practices  are 
or  are  not  consistent  with  the  rules  of  her  family,  and  what 
will  be  inconsistent  with  the  service  for  which  she  agrees 
to  pay.  It  is  much  better  to  regulate  such  affairs  by  cool 
contract  in  the  outset  than  by  warm  altercations  and  pro- 
tracted domestic  battles. 

As  to  the  terms  of  social  intercourse,  it  seems  somehow 
to  be  settled  in  the  minds  of  many  employers  .that  their 
servants  owe  them  and  their  family  more  respect  than  they 
and  the  family  owe  to  the  servants.  But  do  they  ?  What 
is  the  relation  of  servant  to  employer  in  a  democratic 
country  ?  Precisely  that  of  a  person  who  for  money  per- 
forms any  kind  of  service  for  you.  The  carpenter  comes 
into  your  house  to  put  up  a  set  o  shelves — the  cook  comes 
into  your  kitchen  to  cook  your  dinner.  You  never  think 
that  the  carpenter  owes  you  any  more  respect  than  you  owe 
to  him  because  he  is  in  your  house  doing  your  behests ;  he 


THE  CARE  OF  SERVANTS.  325 

is  your  fellow-citizen,  you  treat  him  with  respect,  you  ex- 
pect to  be  treated  with  respect  by  him.  You  have  a  claim 
on  him  that  he  shall  do  your  work  according  to  your  direc- 
tions— no  more. 

Now,  I  apprehend  that  there  is  a  very  common  notion  as 
to  the  position  and  rights  of  servants  which  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  this.  Is  it  not  a  common  feeling  that  a  servant- 
is  one  who  may  be  treated  with  a  degree  of  freedom  by 
every  member  of  the  family  which  he  or  she  may  not  re- 
turn ?  Do  not  people  feel  at  liberty  to  question  servants 
about  their  private  affairs,  to  comment  on  their  dress  and 
appearance,  in  a  manner  which  they  would  feel  to  be  an 
impertinence,  if  reciprocated  ?  Do  they  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  express  dissatisfaction  with  their  performances  in  rude 
and  unceremonious  terms,  to  reprove  them  in  the  presence 
of  company,  while  yet  they  require  that  the  dissatisfaction 
of  servants  shall  be  expressed  only  in  terms  of  respect  ?  A 
woman  would  not  feel  herself  at  liberty  to  talk  to  her  mil- 
liner or  her  dress-maker  in  language  as  devoid  of  considera- 
tion as  she  will  employ  toward  her  cook  or  chambermaid. 
And  yet  both  are  rendering  her  a  service  which  she  pays 
for  in  money,  and  one  is  no  more  made  her  inferior  thereby 
than  the  other.  Both  have  an  equal  right  to  be  treated 
with  courtesy.  The  master  and  mistress  of  a  house  have  a 
right  to  require  courteous  treatment  from  all  whom  their 
roof  shelters;  but  they  have  no  more  right  to  exact  it 
of  servants  than  of  every  guest  and  every  child,  and  they 
themselves  owe  it  as  much  to  servants  as  to  guests. 

In  order  that  servants  may  be  treated  with  respect  and 
courtesy,  it  is  not 'necessary,  as  in  simpler  patriarchal  days, 
that  they  sit  at  the  family-table.  Your  carpenter  or  plumb- 
er does  not  feel  hurt  that  you  do  not  ask  him  to  dine  with 
you,  nor  your  milliner  and  mantua-maker  that  you  do  not 
exchange  ceremonious  calls  and  invite  them  to  your  parties. 
It  is  well  understood  that  your  relations  with  them  are  of  a 
mere  business  character.  They  never  take  it  as  an  assump- 
tion of  superiority  on  your  part  that  you  do  not  admit  them 


326  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

to  relations  of  private  intimacy.  There  may  be  the  most 
perfect  respect  and  esteem  and  even  friendship  between 
them  and  you,  notwithstanding.  So  it  may  be  in  the  case 
of  servants.  It  is  easy  to  make  any  person  understand  that 
there  are  quite  other  reasons  than  the  assumption  of  person- 
al superiority  for  not  wishing  to  admit  servants  to  the  family 
privacy.  It  was  not,  in  fact,  to  sit  in  the  parlor  or  at  the 
table,  in  themselves  considered,  that  was  the  thing  aimed  at 
by  New-England  girls ;  these  were  valued  only  as  signs  that 
they  were  deemed  worthy  of  respect  and  consideration,  and, 
where  freely  conceded,  were  often  in  point  of  fact  declined. 

Let  servants  feel,  in  their  treatment  by  their  employers 
and  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  family,  that  their  position  is 
held  to  be  a  respectable  one ;  let  them  feel,  in  the  mistress 
of  the  family,  the  charm  of  unvarying  consideration  and 
good  manners;  let  their  work-rooms  be  made  convenient 
and  comfortable,  and  their  private  apartments  bear  some 
reasonable  comparison  in  point  of  agreeableness  to  those  of 
other  members  of  the  family,  and  domestic  service  will  be 
more  frequently  sought  by  a  superior  and  self-respecting 
class.  There  are  families  in  which  such  a  state  of  things 
prevails;  and  such  families,  amid  the  many  causes  which 
unite  to  make  the  tenure  of  service  uncertain,  have  gene- 
rally been  able  to  keep  good  permanent  servants. 

There  is  an  extreme  into  which  kindly  disposed  people 
often  run  with  regard  to  servants  which  may  be  men- 
tioned here.  They  make  pets  of  them.  They  give  extrava- 
gant wages  and  indiscreet  indulgences,  and,  through  indo- 
lence and  easiness  of  temper,  tolerate  neglect  of  duty. 
Many  of  the  complaints  of  the  ingratitude  of  servants 
come  from  those  who  have  spoiled  them  in  this  way  ;  while 
many  of  the  longest  and  most  harmonious  domestic  unions 
have  sprung  from  a  simple,  quiet  course  of  Christian  justice 
and  benevolence,  a  recognition  ot  servants  as  fellow-beings 
and  fellow-Christians,  and  a  doing  to  them  as  we  would  in 
like  circumstances  that  they  should  do  to  us. 

The  mistresses  of  American  families,  whether  they  like 


THE    CARE    OF   SERVANTS.  327 

it  or  not,  have  the  duties  of  missionaries  imposed  upon  them 
by  that  class  from  which  our  supply  of  domestic  servants  is 
drawn.  They  may  as  well  accept  the  position  cheerfully, 
and,  as  one  raw,  untrained  hand  after  another  passes 
through  their  family,  and  is  instructed  by  them  in  the  mys- 
teries of  good  house-keeping,  comfort  themselves  with  the 
reflection  that  they  are  doing  something  to  form  good  wives 
and  mothers  for  the  republic. 

The  complaints  made  of  Irish  girls  are  numerous  and 
loud ;  the  failings  of  green  Erin,  alas !  are  but  too  open 
and  manifest ;  yet,  in  arrest  of  judgment,  let  us  move  this 
consideration :  let  us  imagine  our  own  daughters  between 
the  ages  of  sixteen  and  twenty-four,  untaught  and  inexperi- 
enced in  domestic  affairs  as  they  commonly  are,  shipped  to 
a  foreign  shore  to  seek  service  in  families.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether,  as  a  whole,  they  would  do  much  better. 
The  girls  that  fill  our  families  and  do  our  house-work  are 
often  of  the  age  of  our  own  daughters,  standing  for  them- 
selves, without  mothers  to  guide  them,  in  a  foreign  country, 
not  only  bravely  supporting  themselves,  but  sending  home 
in  every  ship  remittances  to  impoverished  friends  left'  be- 
hind. If  our  daughters  did  as  much  for  us,  should  we  not 
be  proud  of  their  energy  and  heroism  ? 

When  we  go  into  the  houses  of  our  country,  we  find  a 
majority  of  well-kept,  well-ordered,  and  even  elegant  estab- 
lishments, where  the  only  hands  employed  are  those  of  the 
daughters  of  Erin.  True,  American  women  have  been 
their  instructors,  and  many  a  weary  hour  of  care  have  they 
had  in  the  discharge  of  this  office ;  but  the  result  on  the 
whole  is  beautiful  and  good,  and  the  end  of  it,  doubtless*, 
will  be  peace. 

Instead,  then,  of  complaining  that  we  can  not  have  our 
own  peculiar  advantages  and  those  of  other  nations  too,  or 
imagining  how  much  better  off  we  should  be  if  things  were 
different  from  what  they  are,  it  is  much  wiser  and  more 
Christianlike  to  strive  cheerfully  to  conform  to  actual  cir- 


823  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

cumstances  ;  and,  after  remedying  all  that  we  can  control, 
patiently  to  submit  to  what  is  beyond  our  power.  If  do- 
mestics are  found  to  be  incompetent,  unstable,  and  uncon- 
formed  to  their  station,  it  is  Perfect  Wisdom  which  ap- 
points these  trials  to  teach  us  patience,  fortitude,  and  self- 
control  ;  and  if  the  discipline  is  met  in  a  proper  spirit,  it 
will  prove  a  blessing  rather  than  an  evil. 

But  to  judge  correctly  in  regard  to  some  of  the  evils  in- 
volved in  the  state  of  domestic  service  in  this  country,  we 
should  endeavor  to  conceive  ourselves  placed  in  the  situation 
of  those  of  whom  complaint  is  made,  that  we  may  not  ex- 
pect from  them  any  more  than  it  would  seem  right  should 
be  exacted  from  us  in  similar  circumstances. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  against  domestics  that  they  exact 
exorbitant  wages.  But  what  is  the  rule  of  rectitude  on 
this  subject  ?  Is  it  not  the  universal  law  of  labor  and  of 
trade  that  an  article  is  to  be  valued  according  to  its  scarcity 
and  the  demand  ?  When  wheat  is  scarce,  the  farmer  raises 
his  price ;  and  when  a  mechanic  offers  services  difficult  to 
be  obtained,  he  makes  a  corresponding  increase  of  price. 
And  why  is  it  not  right  for  domestics  to  act  according  to  a 
rule  allowed  to  be  correct  in  reference  to  all  other  trades  and 
professions  ?  It  is  a  fact,  that  really  good  domestic  service 
must  continue  to  increase  in  value  just  in  proportion  as  this 
country  waxes  rich  and  prosperous ;  thus  making  the  propor- 
tion of  those  who  wish  to  hire  labor  relatively  greater,  and 
the  number  of  those  willing  to  go  to  service  less. 

Money  enables  the  rich  to  gain  many  advantages  which 
those  of  more  limited  circumstances  can  not  secure.  One 
of  these  is,  securing  good  servants  by  offering  high 
wages  ;  and  this,  as  the  scarcity  of  this  class  increases,  will 
serve  constantly  to  raise  the  price  of  service.  It  is  right 
for  domestics  to  charge  the  market  value,  and  this  value  is 
always  decided  by  the  scarcity  of  the  article  and  the 
amount  of  demand.  Right  views  of  this  subject  will  some- 
times serve  to  diminish  hard  feelings  toward  those  who 


THE    CARE    OF  SERVANTS.  329 

would  otherwise  be  wrongfully  regarded  as  unreasonable 
and  exacting. 

Another  complaint  against  servants  is  that  of  instability 
and  discontent,  leading  to  perpetual  change.  -But  in  refer- 
ence to  this,  let  a  mother  or  daughter  conceive  of  their  own 
circumstances  as  so  changed  that  the  daughter  must  go  out 
to  service.  Suppose  a  place  is  engaged,  and  it  is  then  found 
that  she  must  sleep  in  a  comfortless  garret ;  and  that,  when 
a  new  domestic  comes,  perhaps  a  coarse  and  dirty  foreigner, 
she  must  share  her  bed  with  her.  Another  place  is  offered, 
where  she  can  have  a  comfortable  room  and  an  agreeable 
room-mate;  in  such  a  case,  would  not  both  mother  and 
daughter  think  it  right  to  change  ? 

Or  suppose,  on  trial,  it  was  found  that  the  lady  of  the 
house  was  fretful  or  exacting  and  hard  to  please,  or  that  her 
children  were  so  ungoverned  as  to  be  perpetual  vexations  ; 
or  that  the  work  was  so  heavy  that  no  time  was  allowed  for 
relaxation  and  the  care  of  a  wardrobe ;  and  another  place 
offers  where  these  evils  can  be  escaped ;  would  not  mother 
and  daughter  here  think  it  right  to  change  ?  And  is  it  not 
right  for  domestics,  as  well  as  their  employers,  to  seek 
places  where  they  can  be  most  comfortable  ? 

In  some  cases,  this  instability  and  love  of  change  would 
be  remedied,  if  employers  would  take  more  pains  to  make 
a  residence  with  them  agreeable,  and  to  attach  servants  to 
the  family  by  feelings  of  gratitude  and  affection.  There 
are  ladies,  even  where  well-qualified  domestics  are  most 
rare,  who  seldom  find  any  trouble  in  keeping  good  and 
steady  ones.  And  the  reason  is,  that  their  servants  know 
they  can  not  better  their  condition  by  any  change  within 
reach.  It  is  not  -merely  by  giving  them  comfortable  rooms, 
and  good  food,  and  presents,  and  privileges,  that  the  attach- 
ment of  domestic  servants  is  secured ;  it  is  by  the  manifesta- 
tion of  a  friendly  and  benevolent  interest  in  their  comfort 
and  improvement.  This  is  exhibited  in  bearing  patiently 
with  their  faults ;  in  kindly  teaching  them  how  to  improve  ; 
in  showing  them  how  to  make  and  take  proper  care  of  their 


330  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN* S  HOME. 

clothes  ;  in  guarding  their  health ;  in  teaching  them  to  read 
if  necessary,  and  supplying  them  with  proper  books ;  and 
in  short,  by  endeavoring,  so  far  as  may  be,  to  supply  the 
place  of  parents.  It  is  seldom  that  such  a  course  would 
fail  to  secure  steady  service,  and  such  affection  and  grati- 
tude that  even  higher  wages  would  be  ineffectual  to  tempt 
them  away.  There  would  probably  be  some  cases  ot  un- 
grateful returns ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  course  in- 
dicated, if  generally  pursued,  would  very  much  lessen  the 
evil  in  question. 

When  servants  are  forward  and  bold  in  manners  and  dis- 
respectful in  address,  they  may  be  considerately  taught  that 
those  who  are  among  the  best-bred  and  genteel  have  cour- 
teous and  respectful  manners  and  language  to  all  they  meet : 
while  many  who  have  wealth,  are  regarded  as  vulgar,  be- 
cause they  exhibit  rude  and  disrespectful  manners.  The 
very  term  gentle  man  indicates  the  refinement  and  delicacy 
of  address  which  distinguishes  the  high-bred  from  the  coarse 
and  vulgar. 

In  regard  to  appropriate  dress,  in  most  cases  it  is  difficult 
for  an  employer  to  interfere,  directly ',  with  comments  or  ad- 
vice. The  most  successful  mode  is  to  offer  some  service  in 
mending  or  making  a  wardrobe,  and  when  a  confidence  in 
the  kindness  of  feeling  is  thus  gained,  remarks  and  sugges- 
tions will  generally  be  properly  received,  and  new  views  of 
propriety  and  economy  can  be  imparted.  In  some  cases  it 
may  be  well  for  an  employer  who,  from  appearances,  antici- 
pates difficulty  of  this  kind,  in  making  the  preliminary  con- 
tract or  agreement  to  state  that  she  wishes  to  have  the 
room,  person,  and  dress  of  her  servants  kept  neat  and  in 
order,  and  that  she  expects  to  remind  them  of  their  duty, 
in  this  particular,  if  it  is  neglected.  Domestic  servants  are 
very  apt  to  neglect  the  care  of  their  own  chambers  and 
clothing;  and  such  habits  have  a  most  pernicious  influence 
on  their  well-being  and  on  that  of  their  children  in  future 
domestic  life.  An  employer,  then,  is  bound  to  exercise  a 
parental  care  over  them,  in  these  respects. 


THE   CARE   OF  SERVANTS.  SCI 

There  is  one  great  mistake,  not  un frequently  made,  in  the 
management  both  of  domestics  and  of  children,  and  that  is, 
in  supposing  that  the  way  to  cure  defects  is  by  finding  fault 
as  each  failing  occurs.  But  instead  of  this  being  true,  in 
many  cases  the  directly  opposite  course  is  the  best ;  while,  in 
all  instances,  much  good  judgment  is  required  in  order  to  de- 
cide when  to  notice  faults  and  when  to  let  them  pass  unno- 
ticed. There  are  some  minds  very  sensitive,  easily  discour- 
aged, and  infirm  of  purpose.  Such  persons,  when  they  have 
formed  habits  of  negligence,  haste,  and  awkwardness,  often 
need  expressions  of  sympathy  and  encouragement  rather 
than  reproof.  They  have  usually  been  found  fault  with  so 
much  that  they  have  become  either  hardened  or  despond- 
ing ;  and  it  is  often  the  case,  that  a  few  words  of  commend- 
ation will  awaken  fresh  efforts  and  renewed  hope/'  In  al 
most  every  case,  words  of  kindness,  confidence,  and  encour- 
agement should  be  mingled  with  the  needful  admonitions 
or  reproof. 

It  is  a  good  rule,  in  reference  to  this  point,  to  forewarn 
instead  of  finding  fault.  Thus,  when  a  thing  has  been  done 
wrong,  let  it  pass  unnoticed,  till  it  is  to  be  done  again  ;  and 
then,  a  simple  request  to  have  it  done  in  the  right  way  will 
secure  quite  as  much,  and  probably  more,  willing  effort, 
than  a  reproof  administered  for  neglect.  Some  persons 
seem  to  take  it  for  granted  that  young  and  inexperienced 
minds  are  bound  to  have  all  the  forethought  and  discretion 
of  mature  persons ;  and  freely  express  wonder  and  disgust 
when  mishaps  occur  for  want  of  these  traits.  But  it  would 
be  far  better  to  save  from  mistake  or  forgetfulness  by  pre- 
vious caution  and  care  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
gained  experience  and  forethought ;  and  thus  many  occa- 
sions of  complaint  and  ill-humor  will  be  avoided. 

Those  who  fill  the  places  of  heads  of  families  are  not 
very  apt  to  think  how  painful  it  is  to  be  chided  for  neglect 
of  duty  or  for  faults  of  character.  If  they. would  some- 
times imagine  themselves  in  the  place  of  those  whom  they 


332 

control,  with  some  person  daily  administering  reproof 
to  them,  in  the  same  tone  and  style  as  they  employ  to 
those  who  are  under  them,  it  might  serve  as  a  useful  check 
to  their  chidings.  It  is  often  the  case,  that  persons  who  are 
most  strict  and  exacting  and  least  able  to  make  allowances 
and  receive  palliations,  are  themselves  peculiarly  sensitive 
to  any  thing  which  implies  that  they  are  in  fault.  By  such, 
the  spirit  implied  in  the  Divine  petition,  "  Forgive  us  our 
trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us," 
needs  especially  to  be  cherished. 

One  other  consideration  is  very  important.  There  is  no 
duty  more  binding  on  Christians  than  that  of  patience  and 
meekness  under  provocations  and  disappointment.  Now, 
the  tendency  of  every  sensitive  mind,  when  thwarted  in  its 
wishes,  is  to  complain  and  find  fault,  and  that  often  in  tones 
of  fretfulness  or  anger.  But  there  are  few  servants  who 
have  not  heard  enough  of  the  Bible  to  know  that  angry  or 
fretful  fault-finding  from  the  mistress  of  a  family,  when 
her  work  is  not  done  to  suit  her,  is  not  in  agreement  with 
the  precepts  of  Christ.  They  notice  and  feel  the  inconsist- 
ency ;  and  every  woman,  when  she  gives  way  to  feelings  of 
anger  and  impatience  at  the  faults  of  those  around  her, 
lowers  herself  in  their  respect,  while  her  own  conscience, 
unless  very  much  blinded,  can  not  but  suffer  a  wound. 

In  speaking  of  the  office  of  the  American  mistress  as 
being  a  missionary  one,  we  are  far  from  recommending  any 
controversial  interference  with  the  religious  faith  of  our 
servants.  It  is  far  better  to  incite  them  to  be  good  Chris- 
tians in  their  own  way  than  to  run  the  risk  of  shaking  their 
faith  in  all  religion  by  pointing  out  to  them  what  seem  to 
us  the  errors  of  that  in  which  they  have  been  educated. 
The  general  purity  of  life  and  propriety  of  demeanor  of  so 
many  thousands  of  undefended  young  girls  cast  yearly  upon 
our  shores,  with  no  home  but  their  church,  and  no  shield 
but  their  religion,  are  a  sufficient  proof  that  this  religion 
exerts  an  influence  over  them  not  to  be  lightly  trifled  with. 


THE   CAEE  OF  SERVANTS.  333 

But  there  is  a  real  unity  even  in  opposite  Christian  forms  ; 
and  the  Roman  Catholic  servant  and  the  Protestant  mis- 
tress, if  alike  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  striving 
to  conform  to  the  Golden  Rule,  can  not  help  being  one  in 
heart,  though  one  go  to  mass  and  the  other  to  meeting. 

Finally,  the  bitter  baptism  through  which  we  have  passed, 
the  life-blood  dearer  than  our  own  which  has  drenched  dis- 
tant fields,  should  remind  us  of  the  preciousness  of  distinc- 
tive American  ideas.  They  who  would  seek  in  their  foolish 
pride  to  establish  the  pomp  of  liveried  servants  in  America 
are  doing  that  which  is  simply  absurd.  A  servant  can  never 
in  our  country  be  the  mere  appendage  to  another  man,  to  be 
marked  like  a  sheep  with  the  color  of  his  owner ;  he  must 
be  a  fellow-citizen,  with  an  established  position  of  his  own, 
free  to  make  contracts,  free  to  come  and  go,  and  having  in 
his  sphere  titles  to  consideration  and  respect  just  as  definite 
as  those  of  any  trade  or  profession  whatever. 

Moreover,  we  can  not  in ,  this  country  maintain  to  any 
great  extent  large  retinues  of  servants.  Even  with  ample 
fortunes,  they  are  forbidden  by  the  general  character  of  so- 
ciety here,  which  makes  them  cumbrous  and  difficult  to 
manage.  Every  mistress  of  a  family  knows  that  her  cares 
increase  with  every  additional  servant.  Two  keep  the 
peace  with  each  other  and  their  employer ;  three  begin  a 
possible  discord,  which  possibility  increases  with  four,  and 
becomes  certain  with  five  or  six.  Trained  housekeepers, 
such  as  regulate  the  complicated  establishments  of  the  old 
world,  form  a  class  that  are  not,  and  from  the  nature 
of  the  case  never  will  be,  found  in  any  great  numbers  in  this 
country.  All  such  women,  as  a  general  thing,  are  keeping, 
and  prefer  to  keep,  houses  of  their  own. 

A  moderate  style  of  housekeeping,  small,  compact,  and 
simple  domestic  establishments,  must  necessarily  be  the  gen- 
eral order  of  life  in  America.  So  many  openings  of  profit 
are  to  be  found  in  this  country,  that  domestic  service  neces- 
sarily wants  the  permanence  which  forms  so  agreeable  a 
feature  of  it  in  the  old  world. 


334  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

This  being  the  case,  it  should  be  an  object  in  America  to 
exclude  from  the  labors  of  the  family  all  that  can,  with 
greater  advantage,  be  executed  out  of  it  by  combined  labor. 

Formerly,  in  New-England,  soap  and  candles  were  to  be 
made  in  each  separate  family ;  now,  comparatively  few  take 
this  toil  upon  them.  We  buy  soap  of  the  soap-maker,  and 
candles  of  the  candle-factor.  This  principle  might  be  ex- 
tended much  further.  In  France,  no  family  makes  its  own 
bread,  and  better  bread  can  not  be  eaten  than  can  be 
bought  at  the  appropriate  shops.  No  family  does  its  own 
washing ;  the  family's  linen  is  all  sent  to  women  who,  mak- 
ing this  their  sole  profession,  get  it  up  with  a  care  and  nice- 
ty which  can  seldom  be  equaled  in  any  family. 

How  would  it  simplify  the  burdens  of  the  American 
housekeeper  to  have  washing  and  ironing  day  expunged  from 
her  calendar!  How  much  more  neatly  and  compactly 
could  the  whole  domestic  system  be  arranged !  If  all  the 
money  that  each  separate  family  spends  on  the  outfit  and 
accommodations  for  washing  and  ironing,  on  fuel,  soap, 
starch,  and  the  other  requirements,  were  united  in  a  fund  to 
create  a  laundry  for  every  dozen  families,  one  or  two  good 
women  could  do  in  first  rate  style  what  now'  is  very  indif- 
ferently done  by  the  disturbance  and  disarrangement  of  all 
other  domestic  processes  in  these  families.  Whoever  sets 
neighborhood-laundries  on  foot  will  do  much  to  solve  the 
American  housekeeper's  hardest  problem. 

Again,  American  women  must  not  try  with  three  servants 
to  carry  on  life  in  the  style  which  in  the  old  world  requires 
sixteen ;  they  must  thoroughly  understand,  and  be  prepared 
to  teach,  every  branch  of  housekeeping ;  they  must  study 
to  make  domestic  service  desirable,  by  treating  their  servants 
in  a  way  to  lead  them  to  respect  themselves  and  to  feel 
themselves  respected ;  and  there  will  gradually  be  evolved 
from  the  present  confusion  a  solution  of  the  domestic  pro- 
blem which  shall  be  adapted  to  the  life  of  a  new  and  grow- 
ing world. 


XXYI. 

CARE   OF   THE   8IOK. 

IT  is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  histories  of  our  Lord 
the  prominent  place  given  to  the  care  of  the  sick.  When 
he  first  sent  out  the  apostles,  it  was  to  heal  the  sick  as 
well  as  to  preach.  Again,  when  he  sent  out  the  seventy, 
their  first  command  was  to  "  heal  the  sick,"  and  next  to 
say,  "  the  kingdom  of  God  has  come  nigh  unto  you."  The 
body  was  to  be  healed  first,  in  order  to  attend  to  the  king- 
dom of  God,  even  when  it  was  "  brought  nigh." 

Jesus  Christ  spent  more  time  and  labor  in  the  cure  of 
men's  bodies  than  in  preaching,  even  if  we  subtract  those 
labors  with  his  earthly  father  by  which  family  homes 
were  provided.  When  he  ascended  to  the  heavens,  his  last 
recorded  words  to  his  followers,  as  given  by  Mark,  were, 
that  his  disciples  should  "  lay  hands  on  the  sick,"  that  they 
might  recover.  Still  more  directly  is  the  duty  of  care  for 
the  sick  exhibited  in  the  solemn  allegorical  description  of 
the  last  day.  It  was  those  who  visited  the  sick  that  were 
the  blessed ;  it  was  those  who  did  not  visit  the  sick  who 
were  told  to  "depart."  Thus  are  we  abundantly  taught 
that  one  of  the  most  sacred  duties  of  the  Christian  family 
is  the  training  of  its  inmates  to  care  and  kind  attention  to 
the  sick. 

Every  woman  who  has  the  care  of  young  children,  or  of 
a  large  family,  is  frequently  called  upon  to  advise  what 
shall  be  done  for  some  one  who  is  indisposed  ;  aud  often, 
in  circumstances  where  she  must  trust  solely  to  her  -  own 


336  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

judgment.  In  such  cases,  some  err  by  neglecting  to  do 
any  thing  at  all,  till  the  patient  is  quite  sick ;  but  a  still 
greater  number  err  from  excessive  and  injurious  dosing. 

The  two  great  causes  of  the  ordinary  slight  attacks  of 
illness  in  a  family,  are,  sudden  chills,  which  close  the 
pores  of  the  skin,  and  thus  affect  the  throat,  lungs,  or  bow- 
els ;  and  the  excessive  or  improper  use  of  food.  In  most 
cases  of  illness  from  the  first  cause,  bathing  the  feet,  and 
some  aperient  drink  to  induce  perspiration,  are  suitable 
i  emedies. 

In  case  of  illness  from  improper  food,  or  excess  in  eat- 
ing, fasting  for  one  or  two  meals,  to  give  the  system  time 
and  chance  to  relieve  itself,  is  the  safest  remedy.  Some- 
times, a  gentle  cathartic  of  castor-oil  may  be  needful ;  but 
it  is  best  first  to  try  fasting.  A  safe  relief  from  injurious 
articles  in  the  stomach  is  an  emetic  of  warm  water ;  but 
to  be  effective,  several  tumblerfuls  must  be  given  in  quick 
succession,  and  till  the  stomach  can  receive  no  more. 

The  following  extract  from  a  discourse  of  Dr.  Burne,  be- 
fore the  London  Medical  Society,  contains  important  infor- 
mation :  "  In  civilized  life,  the  causes  which  are  most  gene- 
rally and  continually  operating  in  the  production  of  dis- 
eases are,  affections  of  the  mind,  improper  diet,  and  re- 
tention of  the  intestinal  excretions.  The  undue  retention 
of  excrementitious  matter  allows  of  the  absorption  of  its 
more  liquid  parts,  which  is  a  cause  of  great  impurity  to 
the  blood,  and  the  excretions,  thus  rendered  hard  and 
knotty,  act  more  or  less  as  extraneous  substances,  and,  by 
their  irritation,  produce  a  determination  of  blood  to  the 
intestines  and  to  the  neighboring  viscera,  which  ultimately 
ends  in  inflammation.  It  also  has  a  great  effect  on  the 
whole  system ;  causes  a  determination  of  blood  to  the  head, 
which  oppresses  the  brain  and  dejects  the  mind;  deranges 
the  functions  of  the  stomach ;  causes  flatulency  ;  and  pro- 
duces a  general  state  of  discomfort." 

Dr.  Combe  remarks  on  this  subject :     "  In  the  natural 


CARE    OF  THE  SICK.  337 

and  healthy  state,  under  a  proper  system  of  diet,  and  with 
sufficient  exercise,  the  bowels  are  relieved  regularly,  once 
every  day."  Habit  "  is  powerful  in  modifying  the  result, 
and  in  sustaining  healthy  action  when  once  fairly  establish 
ed.  Hence  the  obvious  advantage  of  observing  as  much 
regularity  in  relieving  the  system,  as  in  taking  our  meals." 
It  is  often  the  case  that  soliciting  nature  at  a  regular  pe- 
riod, once  a  day,  will  remedy  constipation  without  medi- 
cine, and  induce  a  regular  and  healthy  state  of  the  bowels. 
"  When,  however,  as  most  frequently  happens,  the  consti- 
pation arises  from  the  absence  of  all  assistance  from  the 
abdominal  and  respiratory  muscles,  the  first  step  to  be 
taken  is,  again  to  solicit  their  aid ;  first,  by  removing  all 
impediments  to  free  respiration,  such  as  stays,  waistbands, 
and  belts ;  secondly,  by  resorting  to  such  active  exercise 
as  shall  call  the  muscles  into  full  and  regular  action ;  *  and 
lastly,  by  proportioning  the  quantity  of  food  to  the  wanta 
of  the  system,  and  the  condition  of  the  digestive  organs. 

"  If  we  employ  these  means,  systematically  and  perseve- 
ringly,  we  shall  rarely  fail  in  at  last  restoring  the  healthy 
action  of  the  bowels,  with  little  aid  from  medicine.  But 
if  we  neglect  these  modes,  we  may  go  on  for  years,  adding 
pill  to  pill,  and  dose  to  dose,  without  ever  attaining  the 
end  at  which  we  aim." 

"  There  is  no  point  in  which  a  woman  needs  more  know- 

*  The  most  effective  mode  of  exercising  the  abdominal  and  respiratory 
muscles,  in  order  to  remedy  constipation,  is  by  a  continuous  alternate  con- 
traction of  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen  and  diaphragm.  By  contracting 
the  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  the  intestines  are  pressed  inward  and  up- 
ward, and  then  the  muscles  of  the  diaphragm  above  contract  and  press 
them  downward  and  outward.  Thus  the  blood  is  drawn  to  the  torpid 
parts  to  stimulate  to  the  healthful  action,  while  the  agitation  moves  their 
contents  downward.  An  invalid  can  thus  exercise  the  abdominal  ^nuscles 
in  bed.  The  proper  time  is  just  after  a  meal.  This  exercise,  continued  ten 
minutes  a  day,  including  short  intervals  of  rest,  and  persevered  in  for  a 
week  or  two,  will  cure  most  ordinary  cases  of  constipation,  provided 
proper  food  is  taken.  Coarse  bread  and  fruit  are  needed  for  this  purpose 
in  most  cases. 


338 

ledge  and  discretion  than  in  administering  remedies  for 
what  seem  slight  attacks,  which  are  not  supposed  to  re 
quire  the  attention  of  a  physician.  It  is  little  realized  that 
purgative  drugs  are  unnatural  modes  of  stimulating  the 
internal  organs,  tending  to  exhaust  them  of  their  secre- 
tions, and  to  debilitate  and  disturb  the  animal  economy. 
For  this  reason,  they  should  be  used  as  little  as  possible  ; 
and  fasting,  and  perspiration,  and  the  other  methods 
pointed  out,  should  always  be  first  resorted  to." 

When  medicine  must  be  given,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  there  are  various  classes  of  purgatives,  which  pro- 
duce very  diverse  effects.  Some,  like  salts,  operate  to  thin 
the  blood,  and  reduce  the  system  ;  others  are  stimulating  ; 
and  others  have  a  peculiar  operation  on  certain  organs. 
Of  course,  great  discrimination  and  knowledge  are  needed, 
in  order  to  select  the  kind  which  is  suitable  to  the  particu- 
lar disease,  or  to  the  particular  constitution  of  the  invalid. 
This  shows  the  folly  of  using  the  many  kinds  of  pills,  and 
other  quack  medicines,  where  no  knowledge  can  be  had  of 
their  composition.  Pills  which  are  good  for  one  kind  of 
disease,  might  operate  as  poison  in  another  state  of  the 
system. 

It  is  very  common  in  cases  of  colds,  which  affect  the 
lungs  or  throat,  to  continue  to  try  one  dose  after  another 
for  relief.  It  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  at  such  times, 
that  all  which  goes  into  the  stomach  must  be  first  absorbed 
into  the  blood  before  it  can  reach  the  diseased  part ;  and  that 
there  is  some  danger  of  injuring  the  stomach,  or  other 
parts  of  the  system,  by  such  a  variety  of  doses,  many  of 
which,  it  is  probable,  will  be  directly  contradictory  in 
their  nature,  and  thus  neutralize  any  supposed  benefit 
they  niight  separately  impart. 

When  a  cold  affects  the  head  and  eyes,  and  also  impedes 
breathing  through  the  nose,  great  relief  is  gained  by  a 
wet  napkin  spread  over  the  upper  part  of  the  face,  cover- 
ing the  nose  except  an  opening  for  breath.  This  is  to  be 


CARE  OF  THE  SICK.  339 

covered  by  folds  of  flannel  fastened  over  the  napkin  with 
a  handkerchief.  .  So  also  a  wet  towel  over  the  throat  and 
whole  chest,  covered  with  folds  of  flannel,  often  relieves 
oppressed  lungs. 

Ordinarily,  a  cold  can  be  arrested  on  its  first  symptoms 
by  coverings  in  bed  and  a  bottle  of  hot  water,  securing 
free  perspiration.  Often,  at  its  first  appearance,  it  can  be 
stopped  by  a  spoonful  or  two  of  whisky,  or  any  alcoholic 
liquor,  in  hot  water,  taken  on  going  to  bed.  Warm  cover- 
ering  to  induce  perspiration  will  assist  the  process.  These 
simple  remedies  are  safest.  Perspiration  should  always  be 
followed  by  a  towel-bath. 

It  is  very  unwise  to  tempt  the  appetite  of  a  person  who 
is  indisposed.  The  cessation  of  appetite  is  the  warning  of 
nature  that  the  system  is  in  such  a  state  that  food  can  not 
be  digested.  When  food  is  to  be  given  to  one  who  has  no 
desire  for  it,  beef-tea  is  the  best  in  most  cases. 

The  following  suggestions  may  be  found  useful  in  regard 
to  nursing  the  sick.  As  nothing  contributes  more  to  the 
restoration  of  health  than  pure  air,  it  should  be  a  primary 
object  to  keep  a  sick-room  well  ventilated.  At  least  twice 
in  the  twenty-four  hours,  the  patient  should  be  well  cov- 
ered, and  fresh  air  freely  admitted  from  out  of  doors. 
After  this,  if  need  be,  the  room  should  be  restored  to  a 
proper  temperature,  by  the  aid  of  an  open  fire.  Bedding 
and  clothing  should  also  be  well  aired,  and  frequently 
changed ;  as  the  exhalations  from  the  body,  in  sickness, 
are  peculiarly  deleterious.  Frequent  ablutions  of  the 
whole  body,  if  possible,  are  very  useful ;  and  for  these,  warm 
water  may  be  employed,  when  cold  water  is  disagreeable. 

A  sick-room  should  always  be  kept  very  neat  and  in 
perfect  order ;  and  all  haste,  noise,  and  bustle  should  be 
avoided.  In  order  to  secure  neatness,  order,  and  quiet,  in 
case  of  long  illness,  the  following  arrangement  should  be 
made.  Keep  a  large  box  for  fuel,  which  will  need  to  be 
filled  only  twice  in  twenty-four  hours.  Provide  also  and 


340  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

keep  in  the  room  or  an  adjacent  closet,  a  small  tea-kettle, 
a  saucepan,  a  pail  of  water  for  drinks  and  ablutions,  a 
pitcher,  a  covered  porringer,  two  pint  bowls,  two  tumblers, 
two  cups  and  saucers,  two  wine-glasses,  two  large  and  two 
small  spoons ;  also  a  dish  in  which  to  wash  these  articles  ; 
a  good  supply  of  towels  and  a  broom.  Keep  a  slop-bucket 
near  by  to  receive  the  wash  of  the  room.  Procuring  all 
these  articles  at  once,  will  save  much  noise  and  confusion. 

Whenever  medicine  or  food  is  given,  spread  a  clean  tow- 
el over  the  person  or  bed-clothing,  and  get  a  clean  hand- 
kerchief, as  nothing  is  more  annoying  to  a  weak  stomach 
than  the  stickiness  and  soiling  produced  by  medicine  and 
food. 

Keep  the  fire-place  neat,  and  always  wash  all  arti- 
cles and  put  them  in  order  as  soon  as  they  are  out  of  use. 
A  sick  person  has  nothing  to  do  but  look  about  the 
room  ;  and  when  every  thing  is  neat  and  in  order,  a  feeling 
of  comfort  is  induced,  while  disorder,  filth,  and  neglect  are 
constant  objects  of  annoyance  which,  if  not  complained 
of,  are  yet  felt. 

One  very  important  particular  in  the  case  of  those  who 
are  delicate  in  constitution,  as  well  as  in  the  case  of  the 
sick,  is  the  preservation  of  warmth,  especially  in  the  hands 
and  the  feet.  The  equal  circulation  of  the  blood  is  an  im- 
portant element  for  good  health,  and  this  is  impossible 
when  the  extremities  are  habitually  or  frequently  cold.  It 
is  owing  to  this  fact  that  the  coldness  caused  by  wetting 
the  feet  is  so  injurious.  In  cases  where  disease  or  a  weak 
constitution  causes  a  feeble  or  imperfect  circulation,  great 
pains  should  be  taken  to  dress  the  feet  and  hands  warmly, 
especially  around  the  wrists  and  ankles,  where  the  blood- 
vessels are  nearest  to  the  surface  and  thus  most  exposed  to 
cold.  "Warm  elastic  wristlets  and  anklets  would  save 
many  a  feeble  person  from  increasing  decay  or  disease. 

When  the  circulation  is  feeble  from  debility  or  disease, 
the  union  of  carbon  and  oxygen  in  the  capillaries  is  slow- 


CARE  OF  THE  SICK.  341 

er  than  in  health,  and  therefore  care  should  be  taken  to 
preserve  the  heat  thus  generated  by  warm  clothing  and 
protection  from  cold  draughts.  In  nervous  debility,  it  is 
peculiarly  important  to  preserve  the  animal  heat,  for  its 
excessive  loss  especially  affects  weak  nerves.  Many  an  in- 
valid is  carelessly  and  habitually  suffering  cold  feet,  who 
would  recover  health  by  proper  care  to  preserve  animal 
heat,  especially  in  the  extremities. 

The  following  are  useful  directions  for  dressing  a  blister. 
Spread  thinly,  on  a  linen  cloth,  an  ointment  composed  of 
one  third  of  beeswax  to  two  thirds  of  tallow;  lay  this 
upon  a  linen  cloth  folded  many  times.  With  a  sharp 
pair  of  scissors  make  an  aperture  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
blister-bag,  with  a  little  hole  above  to  give  it  vent. 
Break  the  raised  skin  as  little  as  possible.  Lay  on  the 
cloth  spread  as  directed.  The  blister  at  first  should  be 
dressed  as  often  as  three  times  in  a  day,  and  the  dressing 
renewed  each  time.  Hot  fomentations  in  most  cases  will 
be  as  good  as  a  blister,  less  painful,  and  safer. 

Always  prepare  food  for  the  sick  in  the  neatest  and 
most  careful  manner.  It  is  in  sickness  that  the  senses  of 
smell  and  taste  are  most  susceptible  of  annoyance;  and 
often,  little  mistakes  or  negligences  in  preparing  food  will 
take  away  all  appetite. 

Food  for  the  sick  should  be  cooked  on  coals,  that  no 
smoke  may  have  access  to  it ;  and  great  care  must  be  taken 
to  prevent,  by  stirring,  any  adherence  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cooking  vessel,  as  this  always  gives  a  disagreeable  taste. 

Keeping  clean  handkerchiefs  and  towels  at  hand,  cool- 
ing the  pillows,  sponging  the  hands  with  water,  (with  care 
to  dry  them  thoroughly,)  swabbing  the  mouth  with  a 
clean  linen  rag  on  the  end  of  a  stick,  are  modes  of  increas- 
ing the  comfort  of  the  sick.  Always  throw  a  shawl  over 
a  sick  person  when  raised  up. 

Be  careful  to  understand  a  physician's  directions,  and  to 
obey  them  implicitly.  If  it  be  supposed  that  any  other 


342  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

person  knows  better  about  the  case  than  the  physician, 
dismiss  the  physician,  and  employ  that  person  in  his  stead. 

It  is  always  best  to  consult  the  physician  as  to  where 
medicines  shall  be  purchased,  and  to  show  the  articles  to 
him  before  using  them,  as  great  impositions  are  practiced 
in  selling  old,  useless,  and  adulterated  drugs.  Always  put 
labels  on  vials  of  medicine,  and  keep  them  out  of  the 
reach  of  children. 

Be  careful  to  label  all  powders,  and  particularly  all 
white  powders,  as  many  poisonous  medicines  in  this  form 
are  easily  mistaken  for  others  which  are  harmless. 

In  nursing  the  sick,  always  speak  gently  and  cheering- 
ly ;  and,  while  you  express  sympathy  for  their  pain  and 
trials,  stimulate  them  to  bear  all  with  fortitude,  and  with 
resignation  to  the  Heavenly  Father  who  "  doth  not  will- 
ingly afflict,"  and  "  who  causeth  all  things  to  work  togeth- 
er for  good  to  them  that  love  him."  Offer  to  read  the 
Bible  or  other  devotional  books,  whenever  it  is  suitable, 
and  will  not  be  deemed  obtrusive. 

Miss  Ann  Preston,  one  of  the  most  refined  as  well  as 
talented  and  learned  female  physicians,  in  a  published  ar- 
ticle, gives  valuable  instruction  as  to  the  training  of  nurses. 
She  claims  that  every  woman  should  be  trained  for  this 
office,  and  that  some  who  have  special  traits  that  fit  them 
for  it  should  make  it  their  daily  professional  business.  She 
remarks  that  the  indispensable  qualities  in  a  good  nurse 
are  common  sense,  conscientiousness,  and  sympathetic 
benevolence  :  and  thus  continues  : 

"  God  himself  made  and  commissioned  one  set  of 
nurses  ;  and  in  doing  this  and  adapting  them  to  utter 
helplessness  and  weakness,  what  did  he  do  ?  He  made? 
them  to  love  the  dependence  and  to  see  something  to  ad- 
mire in  the  very  perversities  of  their  charge.  He  made 
them  to  humor  the  caprices  and  regard  both  reasonable 
and  unreasonable  complainings.  He  made  them  to  bend 
tenderly  over  the  disturbed  and  irritated,  and  fold  them  to 


CARE   OF  THE  SICK.  343 

quiet  assurance  in  arms  made  soft  with  love ;  in  a  word,  he 
made  mothers  !  And,  other  things  being  equal,  whoever 
has  most  maternal  tenderness  and  warm  sympathy  with  the 
sufferer  is  the  best  nurse."  And  it  is  those  most  nearly 
endowed  by  nature  with  these  traits  who  should  be  select- 
ed to  be  trained  for  -  the  sacred  office  of  nurse  to  the  sick, 
while,  in  all  the  moral  training  of  womanhood,  this  ideal 
should  be  the  aim. 

Again,  Miss  Preston  wisely  suggests  that  "  persons  may 
be  conscientious  and  benevolent  and  possess  good  judg- 
ment in  many  respects,  and  yet  be  miserable  nurses  of  the 
sick  for  want  of  training  and  right  knowledge. 

"  Knowledge,  the  assurance  that  one  knows  what  to  do, 
always  gives  presence  of  mind — and  presence  of  mind  is 
important  not  only  in  a  sick-room  but  in  every  home. 
Who  has  not  known  consternation  in  a  family  when  some 
one  has  fainted,  or  been  burned,  or  cut,  while  none  were 
present  who  knew  how  to  stop  the  flowing  blood,  or  revive 
the  fainting,  or  apply  the  saving  application  to  the  burn  ? 
Arid  yet  knowledge  and  efficiency  in  such  cases  would  save 
many  a  life,  and  be  a  most  fitting  and  desirable  accom- 
plishment in  every  woman." 

"  We  are  slow  to  learn  the  mighty  influence  of  common 
agencies,  and  the  greatness  of  little  things,  in  their  bear- 
ing upon  life  and  health.  The  woman  who  believes  it 
takes  no  strength  to  bear  a  little  noise  or  some  disagreea- 
b  .e  announcements,  and  loses  patience  with  the  weak,  ner- 
vous invalid  who  is  agonized  with  creaking  doors  or  shoes, 
or  loud,  shrill  voices,  or  rustling  papers,  or  sharp,  fidgety 
motions,  or  the  whispering  so  common  in  sick-rooins  and 
often  so  acutely  distressing  to  the  sufferer,  will  soon  cor- 
rect such  misapprehensions  by  herself  experiencing  a  ner- 
vous fever." 

Here  the  writer  would  put  in  a  plea  for  the  increasing 
multitudes  of  nervous  sufferers  not  confined  to  a  sick- 
room,  and  yet  exposed  to  all  the  varied  sources  of  pain  in- 


344  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

cident  to  an  exhausted  nervous  system,  which  often  cause 
more  intolerable  and  also  more  wearing  pain  than  other 
kinds  of  suffering. 

"  An  exceeding  acuteness  of  the  senses  is  the  result  of 
many  forms  of  nervous  disease.  A  heavy  breath,  an 
ur  washed  hand,  a  noise  that  would  not  have  been  noticed 
ir.  health,  a  crooked  table-cover  or  bed-spread  may  disturb 
or  oppress ;  and  more  than  one  invalid  has  spoken  in  my 
hearing  of  the  sickening  effect  produced  by  the  nurse 
tasting  her  food,  or  blowing  in  her  drinks  to  make  them 
cool.  One  woman,  and  a  sensible  woman  too,  told  me  her 
nurse  had  turned  a  large  cushion  upon  her  bureau  with  the 
back  part  in  front.  She  determined  not  to  be  disturbed 
nor  to  speak  of  such  a  trifle,  but  after  struggling  three  hours 
in  vain  to  banish  the  annoyance,  she  was  forced  to  ask  to 
have  the  cushion  placed  right." 

In  this  place  should  be  mentioned  the  suffering  caused 
to  persons  of  reduced  nervous  power  not  only  by  the  smoke 
of  tobacco,  but  by  the  fetid  effluvium  of  it  from  the  breath 
and  clothing  of  persons  who  smoke.  Many  such  are  sick- 
ened in  society  and  in  car-traveling,  and  to  a  degree  little 
imagined  by  those  who  gain  a  dangerous  pleasure  at  the 
frequent  expense  of  the  feeble  and  suffering. 

Miss  Preston  again  remarks,  "  It  is  often  exceedingly 
important  to  the  very  weak,  who  can  take  but  very  little 
nutriment,  to  have  that  little  whenever  they  want  it.  I 
have  known  invalids  sustain  great  injury  and  suffering ; 
when  exhausted  for  want  of  food,  they  have  had  to  wait 
and  wait,  feeling  as  if  every  minute  was  an  hour,  while 
some  well-fed  nurse  delayed  its  coming.  Said  a  lady,  '  It 
makes  me  hungry  now  to  think  of  the  meals  she  brought 
me  upon  that  little  waiter  when  I  was  sick,  such  brown 
thin  toast,  such  good  broiled  beef,  such  fragrant  tea,  and 
every  thing  looking  so  exquisitely  nice  !  If  at  any  time  I 
did  not  think  of  any  thing  I  wanted,  nor  ask  for  food,  she 
did  not  annoy  me  with  questions,  but  brought  some  little 


CARE  OF  THE  SICK.  345 

delicacy  at  the  proper  time,  and  when  it  came,  I  could 
take  it.' 

"  If  there  is  one  purpose  of  a  personal  kind  for  which  it 
is  especially  desirable  to  lay  up  means,  it  is  for  being  well 
nursed  in  sickness ;  yet  in  the  present  state  of  society,  this 
is  absolutely  impossible,  even  to  the  wealthy,  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  competent  nurses.  Families  worn  down  with 
the  long  and  extreme  illness  of  a  member  require  relief 
from  one  whose  feelings  will  be  less  taxed,  and  who  can 
better  endure  the  labor. 

"  But  alas !  how  often  is  it  impossible,  for  love  or  money, 
to  obtain  one  capable  of  taking  the  burden  from  the  ex- 
hausted sister  or  mother  or  daughter,  and  how  often  in 
consequence  they  have  died  prematurely  or  struggled 
through  weary  years  with  a  broken  constitution.  Appeal 
to  those  who  have  made  the  trial,  and  you  will  find  that 
very  seldom  have  they  been  able  to  have  those  who  by  na- 
ture or  by  training  were  competent  for  their  duties.  Ig- 
norant, unscrupulous,  inattentive — how  often  they  disturb 
and  injure  the  patient !  A  physician  told  me  that  one  of  his 
patients  had  died  because  the  nurse,  contrary  to  orders,  had 
at  a  critical  period  washed  her  with  cold  water.  I  have 
known  one  who,  by  stealth,  quieted  a  fretful  child  with 
laudanum,  and  of  others  who  exhausted  the  sick  by  inces- 
sant talking.  One  lady  said  that  when,  to  escape  this  dis- 
tressing garrulity,  she  closed  her  eyes,  the  nurse  exclaimed 
aloud,  '  Why,  she  is  going  to  sleep  while  I  am  talking  to 
her.' 

"  A  few  only  of  the  sensible,  quiet,  and  loving  women, 
whose  presence  everywhere  is  a  blessing,  have  qualified 
themselves  and  followed  nursing  as  a  business.  Heaven 
bless  that  few !  What  a  sense  of  relief  have  I  seen  pervade 
a  family  when  such  a  one  has  been  procured ;  and  what  a 
treasure  seemed  found ! 

"  There  is  very  commonly  an  extreme  susceptibility  in  the 
sick  to  the  moral  atmosphere  about  them.  They  feel  the 


346  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN"1  S  HOME. 

I 

healthful  influence  of  the  presence  of  a  true-hearted  at- 
tendant and  repose  in  it,  though  they  may  not  be  able  to 
define  the  cause;  while  dissimulation,  falsehood,  reckless- 
ness, coarseness,  jar  terribly  and  injuriously  on  their  height- 
ened sensibilities.  '  Are  the  Sisters  of  Charity  really  bet- 
ter nurses  than  most  other  women?'  I  asked  an  intelligent 
lady  who  had  seen  much  of  our  military  hospitals.  c  Yes, 
they  are,'  was  her  reply.  *  Why  should  it  be  so  ?'  '  I  think 
it  is  because  with  them  it  is  a  work  of  self-abnegation,  and 
of  duty  to  God,  and  they  are  so  quiet  and  self -forgetful  in 
its  exercise  that  they  do  it  better,  while  many  other  women 
show  such  self-consciousness  and  are  so  fussy !" 

Is  there  any  reason  why  every  Protestant  woman  should 
not  be  trained -for  this  self-denying  office  as  a  duty  owed  to 
God? 

"We  can  not  better  close'  this  chapter  than  by  one  more 
quotation  from  the  same  intelligent  and  attractive  writer : 
"The  good  nurse  is  an  artist.  O  the  pillowy,  soothing 
softness  of  her  touch,  the  neatness  of  her  simple,  unrustling 
dress,  the  music  of  her  assured  yet  gentle  voice  and  tread, 
the  sense  of  security  and  rest  inspired  by  her  kind  and  hope- 
ful face,  the  promptness  and  attention  to  every  want,  the 
repose  that  like  an  atmosphere  encircles  her,  the  evidence 
of  heavenly  goodness,  and  love  that  she  diffuses !"  Is  not 
such  an  art  as  this  worth  much  to  attain  ? 

In  training  children  to  the  Christian  life,  one  very  im- 
por  ant  opportunity  occurs  whenever  sickness  appears  in 
the  family  or  neighborhood.  The  repression  of  disturbing 
noisQS,  the  speaking  -in  tones  of  gentleness  and  sympathy, 
the  small  offices  of  service  or  nursing  in  which  children 
can  aid,  should  be  inculcated  as  ministering  to  the  Lord 
and  Elder  Brother  of  man,  who  has  said,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren, 
ye  have  done  it  to  me." 

One  of  the  blessed  opportunities  for  such  ministries  is 
given  to  children  in  the  cultivation  of  flowers.  The  en- 


CARE  OF  THE  SICK.  34} 

trance  into  a  sick-room  of  a  smiling,  healthful  child,  bring- 
ing an  offering  of  flowers  raised  by  its  own  labor,  is  like  an 
angel  of  comfort  and  love,  "  and  alike  it  blesseth  him  who 
gives  and  him  who  takes." 

A  time  is  coming  when  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  as  a 
part  of  the  Christian  life,  will  hold  a  higher  consideration 
than  is  now  generally  accorded,  especially  in  the  cases  of 
uninteresting  sufferers  who  have  nothing  to  attract  kind  at- 
tentions, except  that  they  are  suffering  children  of  our 
Father  in  heaven,  and  "  one  of  the  least"  of  the  brethren 
of  Jesus  Christ. 


XXYII. 

ACCIDENTS   AND   ANTIDOTES. 

CHILDREN  should  be  taught  the  following  modes  of  sa- 
ving life,  health  and  limbs  in  cases  of  sudden  emergency,  be- 
fore a  medical  adviser  can  be  summoned. 

In  case  of  a  common  cut,  bind  th'e  lips  of  the  wo  and 
together  with  a  rag,  and  put  on  nothing  else.  If  it  is  large, 
lay  narrow  strips  of  sticking-plaster  obliquely  across  the 
wound.  In  some  cases  it  is  needful  to  draw  a  needle  and 
thread  through  the  lips  of  the  wound,  and  tie  the  two  sides 
together. 

If  an  artery  be  cut,  it  must  be  tied  as  quickly  as  possible, 
or  the  person  will  soon  bleed  to  death.  The  blood  from  an 
artery  is  a  brighter  red  than  that  from  the  veins,  and  spirts 
out  in  jets  at  each  beat  of  the  heart.  Take  hold  of  the  end 
of  the  artery  and  tie  it  or  hold  it  tight  till  a  surgeon  comes. 
In  this  case,  and  in  all  cases  of  bad  wounds  that  bleed 
much,  tie  a  tight  bandage  near  and  above  the  wound,  insert- 
ing a  stick  into  the  bandage  and  twisting  as  tight  as  can 
be  borne,  to  stop  the  immediate  effusion  of  blood. 

Bathe  bad  bruises  in  hot  water.  Arnica  water  hastens  a 
cure,  but  is  injurious  and  weakening  to  the  parts  when  used 
too  long  and  too  freely. 

A  sprain  is  relieved  from  the  first  pains  by  hot  fomenta- 
tions, or  the  application  of  very  hot  bandages,  but  entire 
rest  is  the  chief  permanent  remedy.  The  more  the  limb 
is  used,  especially  at  first,  the  longer  the  time  required  for 
the  small  broken  fibres  to  knit  together.  Tke  sprained 
leg  should  be  kept  in  a  horizontal  position.  When  a  leg  is 


ACCIDENTS  AND   ANTIDOTES.  349 

broken,  tie  it  to  the  other  leg,  to  keep  it  still  till  a  surgeon 
comes.  Tie  a  broken  arm  to  a  piece  of  thin  wood,  to  keep 
it  still  till  set. 

In  the  case  of  bad  burns  that  take  off  the  skin,  creosote 
water  is  the  best  remedy.  If  this  is  not  at  hand,  wood-soot 
(not  coal)  pounded,  sifted,  and  mixed  with  lard  is  nearly  as 
good,  as  such  soot  contains  creosote.  When  a  dressing  is 
put  on,  do  not  remove  it  till  a  skin  is  formed  under  it.  If 
nothing  else  is  at  hand  for  a  bad  burn,  sprinkle  flour  over 
the  place  where  the  skin  is  off  and  then  let  it  remain,  pro- 
tected by  a  bandage.  The  chief  aim  is  to  keep  the  part 
without  skin  from  the  air. 

In  case  of  drowning,  the  aim  should  be  to  clear  the 
throat,  mouth  and  nostrils,  and  then  produce  the  natural 
action  of  the  lungs  in  breathing  as  soon  as  possible,  at  the 
same  time  removing  wet  clothes  and  applying  warmth  and 
friction  to  the  skin,  especially  the  hands  and  feet,  to  start 
the  circulation.  The  best  mode  of  cleansing  the  throat  and 
mouth  of  choking  water  is  to  lay  the  person  on  the  face,  and 
raise  the  head  a  little,  clearing  the  mouth  and  nostrils  with 
the  finger,  and  then  apply  hartshorn  or  camphor  to  the 
nose.  This  is  safer  and  surer  than  a  common  mode  of  lift- 
ing the  body  by  the  feet,  or  rolling  on  a  barrel  to  empty 
out  the  water. 

To  start  the  action  of  the  lungs,  first  lay  the  person  on 
the  face  and  press  the  back  along  the  spine  to  expel  all  air 
from  the  lungs.  Then  turn  the  body  nearly,  but  not  quite 
over  on  to  the  back,  thus  opening  the  chest  so  that  the  air 
will  rush  in  if  the  mouth  is  kept  open.  Then  turn  the  body 
to  the  face  again  and  expel  the  air,  and  then  again  nearly 
over  on  to  the  back ;  and  so  continue  for  a  long  time. 
Friction,  dry  and  warm  clothing,  and  warm  applications 
should  be  used  in  connection  with  this  process.  This  is  a 
much  better  mode  than  using  bellows,  which  some- 
times will  close  the  opening  to  the  windpipe.  The  above 
is  the  mode  recommended  by  Dr.  Marshall  Hall,  and  is  ap- 
proved by  the  best  medical  authorities. 


350  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Certain  articles  are  often  kept  in  the  house  for  cooking 
or  medical  purposes,  and  sometimes  by  mistake  are  taken 
in  quantities  that  are  poisonous. 

Soda,  saleratus,  potash,  or  any  other  alkali  can  be  ren- 
dered harmless  in  the  stomach  by  vinegar,  tomato-juice,  or 
any  other  acid.  If  sulphuric  or  oxalic  acid  are  taken, 
pounded  chalk  in  water  is  the  best  antidote.  If  those 
are  not  at  hand,  strong  soapsuds  have  been  found  effect- 
ive. Large  quantities  of  tepid  water  should  be  drank  after 
these  antidotes  are  taken,  so  as  to  prodifbe  vomiting. 

Lime  or  baryta  and  its  compounds  demand  a  solution 
of  glauber  salts  or  of  sulphuric  acid. 

Iodine  or  Iodide  of  Potassium  demands  large  draughts  of 
wheat  flour  or  starch  in  water,  and  then  vinegar  and  water. 
The  stomach  should  then  be  emptied  by  vomiting  with  as 
much  tepid  water  as  the  stomach  can  hold. 

Prussic  acid,  a  violent  poison,  is  sometimes  taken  by 
children  in  eating  the  pits  of  stone  fruits  or  bitter  almonds 
which  contain  it.  The  antidote  is  to  empty  the  stomach 
by  an  emetic,  and  give  water  of  ammonia  or  chloric  water. 
Affusions  of  cold  water  all  over  the  body,  followed  by 
warm  hand  friction,  is  often  a  remedy  alone,  but  the  above 
should  be  added  if  at  command.  Antimony  and  its  com- 
pounds demand  drinks  of  oak  bark,  or  gall  nuts,  or  very 
strong  green  tea. 

Arsenic  demands  oil  or  melted  fat,  with  magnesia  or 
lime  water  in  large  quantities,  till  vomiting  occurs. 

Corrosive  Sublimate,  (often  used  to  kill  vermin,)  and  any 
other  form  of  mercury,  requires  milk  or  whites  of  eggs 
in  large  quantities.  The  whites  of  twelve  eggs  in  two 
quarts  of  water,  given  in  the  largest  possible  draughts 
every  three  minutes  till  free  vomiting  occurs,  is  a  good 
remedy.  Flour  and  water  will  answer,  though  not  so  sure- 
ly as  the  above.  Warm  water  will  help,  if  nothing  else  is 
in  reach.  The  same  remedy  answers  when  any  form  of 
copper,  or  tin,  or  zinc  poison  is  taken,  and  also  for  creosote. 


ACCIDENTS  AND  ANTIDOTES.  351 

Lead  and  its  compounds  require  a  dilution  of  Epsom 
or  Glauber  salts,  or  some  strong,  acid  drink,  as  lemon  or 
tomatoes. 

Nitrate  of  Silver  demands  salt  water  drank  till  vomiting 
occurs. 

Phosphorus  (sometimes  taken  by  children  from  matches) 
needs  magnesia  and  copious  drinks  of  gum  Arabic,  or  gum 
water  of  any  sort. 

Alcohol,  in  dangerous  quantities,  demands  vomiting 
with  warm  water. 

When  one  is  violently  sick  from  excessive  use  of  tobac- 
co, vomiting  is  a  relief,  if  it  arise  spontaneously.  After 
that,  or  in  case  it  does  not  occur,  the  juice  of  a  lemon  and 
perfect  rest,  in  a  horizontal  position  on  the  back,  will  re- 
lieve the  nausea  and  faintness,  generally  soothing  the  fool- 
ish and  over- wrought  patient  into  a  sleep. 

Opium  demands  a  quick  emetic.  The  best  is  a  heaping 
table-spoonful  of  powdered  mustard,  in  a  tumblerful  of 
warm  water ;  or  powdered  alum  in  half-ounce  doses  and 
strong  coffee  alternately  in  warm  water.  Give  acid  drinks 
after  vomiting.  If  vomiting  is  not  elicited  thus,  a  stom- 
ach pump  is  demanded.  Dash  cold  water  on  the  head,  ap- 
ply friction,  and  use  all  means  to  keep  the  person  awake 
and  in  motion. 

Strychnia  demands  also  quick  emetics. 

The  stomach  should  be  emptied  always  after  taking  any 
of  these  antidotes,  by  a  warm  water  emetic. 

In  case  of  bleeding  at  the  lungs,  or  stomach,  or  throat, 
give  a  tea-spoonful  of  dry  salt,  and  repeat  it  often.  For 
bleeding  at  the  nose,  put  ice,  or  pour  cold  water  on  the 
back  of  the  neck,  keeping  the  head  elevated. 

If  a  person  be  struck  with  lightning,  throw  pailfuls  of 
cold  water  on  the  head  and  body,  and  apply  mustard  poul- 
tices on  the  stomach,  with  friction  of  the  whole  body  and 
inflation  of  the  lungs,  as  in  the  case  of  drowning.  The 


352 

same  mode  is  to  be  used  when  persons  are  stupified  by 
fumes  of  coal,  or  bad  air. 

In  thunderstorms,  shut  the  doors  and  windows.  The 
safest  part  of  a  room  is  its  centre ;  and  where  there  is  a 
feather-bed  in  the  apartment,  that  will  be  found  the  most 
secure  resting-place. 

A  lightning-rod  if  it  be  well  pointed,  and  run  deep  into 
the  earth,  is  a  certain  protection  to  a  circle  around  it, 
whose  diameter  equals  the  height  of  the  rod  above  the 
highest  chimney.  But  it  protects  no  farther  than  this  ex- 
tent. 

In  case  of  fire,  wrap  about  you  a  blanket,  a  shawl,  a 
piece  of  carpet,  or  any  other  woolen  cloth,  to  serve  as  pro- 
tection. Never  read  in  bed,  lest  you  fall  asleep,  and  the 
bed  be  set  on  fire.  If  your  clothes  get  on  fire,  never  run, 
but  lie  down,  and  roll  about  till  you  can  reach  a  bed  or 
carpet  to  wrap  yourself  in,  and  thus  put  out  the  fire.  Keep 
young  children  in  woolen  dresses,  to  save  them  from  the 
risk  of  fire. 


XXVIIL 


EVERT  young  girl  should  be  taught  to  do  the  following 
kinds  of  stitch  with  propriety  :  Over-stitch,  hemming, 
running,  felling,  stitching,  back-stitch  and  run,  buttonhole- 
stitch,  chain-stitch,  whipping,  darning,  gathering,  and 
cross-stitch. 

In  doing  over-stitch,  the  edges  should  always  be  first 
fitted,  either  with  pins  or  basting,  to  prevent  puckering. 
In  turning  wide  hems,  a  paper  measure  should  be  used,  to 
make  them  even.  Tucks,  also,  should  be  regulated  by  a 
paper  measure.  A  fell  should  be  turned,  before  the  edges 
are  put  together,  and  the  seam  should  be  over-sewed  be- 
fore felling.  All  biased  or  goring  seams  should  be  felled. 
For  stitching,  draw  a  thread,  and  take  up  two  or  three 
threads  at  a  stitch. 

In  cutting  buttonholes,  it  is  best  to  have  a  pair  of  scis- 
sors, made  for  the  purpose,  which  cut  very  neatly.  For 
broadcloth,  a  chisel  and  board  are  better.  The  best  stitch 
is  made  by  putting  in  the  needle,  and  then  turning  the 
thread  round  it  near  the  eye.  This  is  better  than  to  draw 
the  needle  through,  and  then  take  up  a  loop.  A  stay 
thread  should  first  be  put  across  each  side  of  the  button- 
hole, and  also  a  bar  at  each  end  before  working  it.  In 
working  the  buttonhole,  keep  the  stay  thread  as  far  from 
the  edge  as  possible.  A  small  bar  should  be  worked  at 
each  end. 

Whipping  is  done  better  by  sewing  over,  and  not  under. 
The  roll  should  be  as  fine  as  possible,  the  stitches  short, 


354  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

the  thread  strong,  and  in  sewing,  every  gather  should  be 
taken  up. 

The  rule  for  gathering  in  shirts  is,  to  draw  a  thread, 
and  then  take  up  two  threads  and  skip  four.  In  darning, 
after  the  perpendicular  threads  are  run,  the  crossing 
threads  should  interlace  exactly,  taking  one  thread  and 
leaving  one,  like  woven  threads.  It  is  better  to  run  a  fine 
thread  around  a  hole  and  draw  it  together,  and  then  darn 
across  it. 

The  neatest  sewers  always  fit  and  baste  their  work  be- 
fore sewing ;  and  they  sey  they  always  save  time  in  the 
end  by  so  doing,  as  they  never  have  to  pick  out  work  on 
account  of  mistakes. ' 

It  is  wise  to  sew  closely  and  tightly  all  new  garments 
which  will  never  be  altered  in  shape ;  but  some  are 
more  nice  than  wise,  in  sewing  frocks  and  old  garments  in 
the  same  style.  However,  this  is  the  least  common  ex- 
treme. It  is  much  more  frequently  the  case  that  articles 
which  ought  to  be  strongly  and  neatly  made  are  sewed  so 
that  a  nice  sewer  would  rather  pick  out  the  threads  and 
sew  over  again  than  to  be  annoyed  with  the  sight  of  grin- 
ning stitches,  and  vexed  with  constant  rips. 

If  the  thread  kinks  in  sewing,  break  it  off  and  begin  at 
the  other  end.  In  using  spool-cotton,  thread  the  needle 
with  the  end  which  comes  off  first,  and  not  the  end  vhere 
you  break  it  off.  This  often  prevents  kinks. 

Work-baskets. — It  is  very  important  to  neatness,  comfort, 
and  success  in  sewing,  that  a  lady's  work-basket  should 
be  properly  fitted  up.  The  following  articles  are  needful 
to  the  mistress  of  a  family  :  a  large  basket  to  hold  work ; 
having  in  it  fastened  a  smaller  basket  or  box,  containing  a 
needle-book  in  which  are  needles  of  every  size,  both  blunts 
and  sharps,  with  a  larger  number  of  those  sizes  most  used ; 
also  small  and  large  darning-needles,  for  woolen,  cotton, 
and  silk ;  two  tape  needles,  large  and  small ;  nice  scissors 
for  fine  work,  button-hole  scissors  ;  an  emery  bag  ;  two  balls 


SEWING,    CUTTING,  AND  MENDING.  355 

of  white  and  yellow  wax ;  and  two  thimbles,  in  case  one 
should  be  mislaid.  When  a  person  is  troubled  with  damp 
lingers,  a  lump  of  soft  chalk  in  a  paper  is  useful  to  rub  on 
the  ends  of  the  fingers. 

Besides  this  box,  keep  in  the  basket  common  scissors ; 
small  shears ;  a  bag  containing  tapes  of  all  colors  and  sizes, 
done  up  in  rolls  ;  bags,  one  containing  spools  of  white  and  an- 
other of  colored  cotton  thread,  and  another  for  silks  wound 
on  spools  or  papers ;  a  box  or  bag  for  nice  buttons,  and 
another  for  more  common  ones  ;  a  bag  containing  silk  braid, 
welting  cords,  and  galloon  binding.  Small  rolls  of  pieces 
of  white  and  brown  linen  and  cotton  are  also  often  need- 
ed. A  brick  pin-cushion  is  a  great  convenience  in  sewing, 
and  better  than  screw  cushions.  It  is  made  by  covering 
half  a  brick  with  cloth,  putting  a  cushion  on  the  top,  and 
covering  it  tastefully.  It  is  very  useful  to  hold  pins  and 
needles  while  sewing,  and  to  fasten  long  seams  when  bas- 
ting and  sewing. 

To  make  a  frock. — The  best  way  for  a  novice  is  to  get  a 
dress  fitted  (not  sewed)  at  the  best  mantua-maker's.  Then 
take  out  a  sleeve,  rip  it  to  pieces,  and  cut  out  a  paper  pattern. 
Then  take  out  half  of  the  waist,  (it  must  have  a  seam  in 
front,)  and  cut  out  a  pattern  of  the  back  and  fore-body,  both 
lining  and  outer  part.  In  cutting  the  patterns,  iron 
the  pieces  smooth,  let  the  paper  be  stiff,  and  with  a  pin 
prick  holes  in  the  paper,  to  show  the  gore  in  front  and  the 
depths  of  the  seams.  With  a  pen  and  ink,  draw  lines 
from  each  pin-hole  to  preserve  this  mark.  Then  baste  the 
parts  together  again,  in  doing  which  the  unbasted  half  will 
serve  as  a  pattern.  When  this  is  done,  a  lady  of  common 
ingenuity  can  cut  and  fit  a  dress  by  these  patterns.  If  the 
waist  of  a  dress  be  too  tight,  the  seam  under  the  arm  must 
be  let  out ;  and  in  cutting  a  dress  an  allowance  should  be 
made  for  letting  it  out  if  needful,  at  this  seam. 

The  linings  for  the  waists  of  dresses  should  be  stiffened 
with  cotton  or  linen.  In  cutting  bias-pieces  for  trimming, 


356  THE   AMERICAN    WOMAN'S  HOME. 

they  will  not  set  well  unless  they  are  exact.  In  cutting  them, 
use  a  long  rule,  and  a  lead  pencil  or  piece  of  chalk.  Welt- 
ing-cords  should  be  covered  with  bias-pieces  ;  and  it  saves 
time,  in  many  cases,  to  baste  on  the  welting-cord  at  the 
same  time  that  you  cover  it.  The  best  way  to  put  on 
hooks  and  eyes  is  to  sew  them  on  double  broad  tape,  and 
sew  this  on  the  frock  lining.  They  can  be  moved  easily,- 
and  do  not  show  where  they  are  sewed  on. 

In  putting  on  linings  of  skirts  at  the  bottom,  be  careful 
to  have  it  a  very  little  fuller  than  the  dress,  or  it  will  shrink 
and  look  badly.  All  thin  silks  look  much  better  with 
lining,  and  last  much  longer,  as  do  aprons  also.  In  putting 
a  lining  to  a  dress,  baste  it  on  each  separate  breadth,  and 
sew  it  at  the  seams,  and  it  looks  much  better  than  to  have 
it  fastened  only  at  the  bottom.  Make  notches  in  selvedge, 
to  prevent  it  from  drawing  up  the  breadth.  ^  Dresses 
which  are  to  be  washed  should  not  be  lined. 

Figured  silks  do  not  generally  wear  well  if  the  figure  be 
large  and  satin-like.  Black  and  plain-colored  silks  can  be 
tested  by  procuring  samples,  and  making  creases  in  them ; 
fold  the  creases  in  a  bunch,  and  rub  them  against  a  rough 
surface  of  moreen  or  carpeting.  Those  which  are  poor 
will  soon  wear  off  at  the  creases. 

Plaids  look  becoming  for  tall  women,  as  they  shorten 
the  appearance  of  the  figure.  Stripes  look  becoming  on  a 
large  person,  as  they  reduce  the  apparent  size.  Pale  per- 
sons should  not  wear  blue  or  green,  and  brunettes  should 
not  wear  light  delicate  colors,  except  shades  of  buff,  fawn, 
or  straw  color.  Pearl  white  is  not  good  for  any  complex- 
ion. Dead  white  and  black  look  becoming  on  almost  all 
persons.  It  is  best  to  try  colors  by  candle-light  for  evening 
dresses,  as  some  colors  which  look  very  handsome  in  the 
daylight  are  very  homely  when  seen  by  candle-light. 
Never  be  in  haste  to  be  first  in  a  fashion,  and  never  go  to 
the  extremes. 

Linen  and  Cotton. — In  buying  linen,  seek  for  that  which 


SEWING,    CUTTING^   AND  MENDING.  357 

has  a  round  close  thread  and  is  perfectly  white  ;  for  if  it 
be  not  white  at  first,  it  will  never  afterward  become  so. 
Much  that  is  called  linen  at  the  shops  is  half  cotton,  and 
does  not  wear  so  well  as  cotton  alone.  Cheap  linens  are 
usually  of  this  kind.  It  is  difficult  to  discover  which  are 
all  linen ;  but  the  best  way  is  to  find  a  lot  presumed  to  be 
good,  take  a  sample,  wash  it,  and  ravel  it.  If  this  be  good, 
the  rest  of  the  same  lot  will  probably  be  so.  If  you  can 
not  do  this,  draw  a  thread  each  way,  and  if  both  appear 
equally  strong  it  is  probably  all  linen.  Linen  and  cotton 
must  be  put  in  clean  water,  and  boiled,  to  get  out  the 
starch,  and  then  ironed. 

A  "  long  piece  "  of  linen,  a  yard  wide,  will,  with  care  and 
calculation,  make  eight  shirts.  In  cutting  it,  take  a  shirt 
of  the  right  size  as  a  guide  in  fitting  and  basting.  Bosom- 
pieces  and  false  collars  must  be  cut  and  fitted  by  patterns 
which  suit  the  person  for  whom  the  articles  are  designed. 
Gentlemen's  night-shirts  are  made  like  other  shirts,  except 
that  they  are  longer,  and  do  not  have  bosoms  and  cuffs 
for  starching. 

In  cutting  chemises,  if  the  cotton  or  linen  is  a  yard 
wide,  cut  off  small  half-gores  at  the  top  of  the  breadths 
and  set  them  on  the  bottom.  Use  a  long  rule  and 
a  pencil  in  cutting  gores.  In  cutting  cotton  which  is 
quite  wide,  a  seam  can  be  saved  by  cutting  out  two  at  once, 
in  this  manner  :  put  off  three  breadths,  and  with  a  long 
rule  and  a  pencil,  mark  and  cut  off  the  gores  ;•  thus  from 
one  breadth  cut  off  two  gores  the  whole  length,  each  gore 
one  fourth  of  the  breadth  at  the  bottom,  and  tapering  off 
to  a  point  at  the  top.  The  other  two  breadths  are  to 
have  a  gore  cut  off  from  each,  which  is  one  fourth  wide  at 
the  top  and  two  fourths  at  bottom.  Arrange  these  pieces 
right  and  they  will  make  two  chemises,  one  having  four 
seams  and  the  other  three.  This  is  a  much  easier  way  of 
cutting  than  sewing  the  three  breadths  together  in  bag 
fashion,  as  is  often  done.  The  biased  or  goring  seams 


358  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

must  always  be  felled.  The  sleeves  and  neck  can  be  cut 
according  to  the  taste  of  the  wearer,  by  another  chemise 
for  a  pattern.  There  should  be  a  lining  around  the  arm- 
holes  and  stays  at  all  corners.  Six  yards  of  yard  width 
will  make  two  chemises. 

Long  night-gowns  are  best  cut  a  little  goring.  It  re- 
quires five  yards  for  a  long  night-gown,  and  two  and  a 
half  for  a  short  one.  Linen  night  caps  wear  longer  than 
cotton  ones,  and  do  not  like  them  turn  yellow.  They 
should  be  ruffled  with  linen,  as  cotton  borders  will  not 
last  so  long  as  the  cap.  A  double-quilted  wrapper  is  a 
great  comfort,  in  case  of  sickness.  It  may  be  made  of 
two  old  dresses.  It  should  not  be  cut  full,  but  rather  like 
a  gentleman's  study-gown,  having  no  gathers  or  plaits,  but 
large  enough  to  slip  off  and  on  with  ease.  A  double-gown 
of  calico  is  also  very  useful.  Most  articles  of  dress,  for 
grown  persons  or  children,  require  patterns. 

Old  silk  dresses  quilted  for  skirts  are  very  serviceable. 
White  flannel  is  soiled  so  easily  and  shrinks  so  much  in  wash- 
ing that  it  is  a  good  plan  to  color  it.  Cotton  flannel  is  also 
good  for  common  skirts.  In  making  up  flannel,  back-stitch 
and  run  the  seams  and  then  cross-stitch  them  open.  Nice 
flannel  for  infants  can  be  ornamented  with  very  little 
expense  of  time,  by  turning  up  the  hem  on  the  right  side, 
and  making  a  little  vine  at  the  edge  with  saddler's  silk. 
The  stitch  of  the  vine  is  a  modification  of  button-hole  stitch. 

Mending.  Silk  dresses  will  last  much  longer,  by  ripping 
out  the  sleeves  when  thin,  and  changing  the  arms  and  also 
the  breadths  of  the.  skirt.  Tumbled  black  silk,  which  is 
old  and  rusty,  should  be  dipped  in  water,  then  be  drained 
for  a  few  minutes,  without  squeezing  or  pressing,  and  then 
ironed.  Coffee  or  cold  tea  is  better  than  water.  Sheets 
when  worn  thin  in  the  middle  should  be  ripped,  and  the 
other  edges  sewed  together.  Window-curtains  last  much 
longer  if  lined,  as  the  sun  fades  and  rots  them. 

Broadcloth  should  be  cut  with  reference  to  the  way  the 


SEWING)    CUTTING^  AND  MENDING.  359 

nap  runs.  "WTien  pantaloons  are  thin,  it  is  best  to  newly 
seat' them,  cutting  the  piece  inserted  in  a  curve,  as  corners 
are  difficult  to  fit.  Hose  can  be  cut  down  when  the  feet 
are  worn.  Take  an  old  stocking  and  cut  it  up  for  a  pat- 
tern. Make  the  heel  short.  In  sewing,  turn  each  edge 
and  run  it  down,  and  then  sew  over  the  edges.  This  is 
better  than  to  stitch  and  then  cross-stitch.  "  Kun  "  thin 
places  in  stockings,  and  it  will  save  darning  a  hole.  If 
shoes  are  worn  through  on  the  sides,  in  the  upper-leather, 
slip  pieces  of  broadcloth  under,  and  sew  them  around  the 
holes. 

Bedding.  The  best  beds  are  thick  hair  mattresses, 
which  for  persons  in  health  are  good  for  winter  as  well  as 
summer  use.  Mattresses  may  also  be  made  of  husks,  dried 
and  drawn  into  shreds ;  also  of  alternate  layers  of  cotton 
and  moss.  The  most  profitable  sheeting  is  the  Russian, 
which  will  last  three  times  as  long  as  any  other.  It  is 
never  perfectly  white.  Unbleached  cotton  is  good  for  win- 
ter. It  is  poor  economy  to  make  narrow  and  short  sheets, 
as  children  and  domestics  will  always  slip  them  off,  and 
soil  the  bed-tick  and  bolster.  They  should  be  three  yards 
long,  and  two  and  a  half  wide,  so  that  they  can  be  tucked 
in  all  around.  All  bed-linen  should  be  marked  and  num- 
bered, so  that  a  bed  can  always  be  made  properly,  and  all 
missing  articles  be  known. 


XXIX. 

FIRES   AND   LIGHTS. 

A  SHALLOW  fireplace  saves  wood  and  gives  out  more  heat 
than  a  deeper  one.  A  false  back  of  brick  may  be  put  up 
in  a  deep  fireplace.  Hooks  for  holding  up  the  shovel  and 
tongs,  a  hearth-brush  and  bellows,  and  brass  knobs  to  hang 
them  on,  should  be  furnished  to  every  fireplace.  An  iron 
bar  across  the  andirons  aids  in  keeping  the  fire  safe  and  in 
good  order.  Steel  furniture  is  neater,  .handsomer,  and 
more  ^easily  kept  in  order  than  that  made  of  brass. 

Use  green  wood  for  logs,  and  mix  green  and  dry  wood 
for  the  fire ;  and  then  the  wood-pile  will  last  much  longer. 
Walnut,  maple,  hickory,  and  oak  wood  are  best ;  chestnut 
or  hemlock  is  bad,  because  it  snaps.  Do  not  buy  a  load  in 
which  there  are  many  crooked  sticks.  Learn  how  to  mea- 
sure and  calculate  the  solid  contents  of  a  load,  so  as  not  to 
be  cheated.  A  cord  of  wood  should  be  equivalent  to  a  pile 
eight  feet  long,  four  feet  wide  and  four  feet  high ;  that  is, 
it  contains  (8x4x4=128)  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
cubic  or  solid  feet.  A  city  "  load  "  is  usually  one  third  of 
a  cord.  Have  all  your  wood  split  and  piled  under 
cover  for  winter.  Have  the  green  wood  logs  in  one  pile, 
dry  wood  in  another,  oven  wood  in  another,  kindlings  and 
chips  in  another,  and  a  supply  of  charcoal  to  use  for  broil- 
ing and  ironing  in  another  place.  Have  a  brick  bin  for 
ashes,  and  never  allow  them  to  be  put  in  wood.  When 
quitting  fires  at  night,  never  leave  a  burning  stick  across 
the  andirons,  nor  on  its  end,  without  quenching  it.  See 
that  no  fire  adheres  to  the  broom  or  brush,  remove  all  arti- 


FIRES  AND    LIGHTS.  361 

cles  from  the  fire,  and  have  two  pails  filled  with  water  in 
the  kitchen  where  they  will  not  freeze. 


STOYES    AND    GRATES. 


Rooms  heated  by  stoves  should  always  have- some  open- 
ing for  the  admission  of  fresh  air,  or  they  will  be  injurious 
to  health.  The  dryness  of  the  air,  which  they  occasion, 
should  be  remedied  by  placing  a  vessel  filled  with  water 
on  the  stove,  otherwise,  the  lungs  or  eyes  will  be  injured. 
A  large  number  of  plants  in  a  room  prevents  this  dryness 
of  the  air.  Where  stove-pipes  pass  through  fire-boards,  the 
hole  in  the  wood  should  be  much  larger  than  the  pipe,  so 
that  there  may  be  no  danger  of  the  wood  taking  fire.  The 
unsightly  opening  thus  occasioned  should  be  covered  with 
tin.  When  pipes  are  carried  through  floors  or  partitions, 
they  should  always  pass  either  through  earthen  crocks, 
or  what  are  known  as  tin  stove-pipe  thimbles,  which  may 
be  found  in  any  stove  store  or  tinsmith's.  Lengthening  a 
pipe  will  increase  its  draught. 

For  those  who  use  anthracite  coal,  that  which  is  broken 
or  screened  is  best  for  grates,  and  the  nut-coal  for  small 
stoves.  Three  tons  are  sufficient  in  the  Middle  States,  and 
four  tons  in  the  Northern,  to  keep  one  fire  through  the 
winter.  That  which  is  bright,  hard,  and  clean  is  best ; 
and  that  which  is  soft,  porous,  and  covered  with  damp  dust 
is  poor.  It  will  be  well  to  provide  two  barrels  of  charcoal 
for  kindling  to  every  ton  of  anthracite  coal.  Grates  for 
bituminous  coal  should,  have  a  flue  nearly  as  deep  as  the 
grate ;  and  the  bars  should  be  round  and  not  close  togeth- 
er. The  better  draught  there  is,  the  less  coal-dust  is  made. 
Every  grate  should  be  furnished  with  a  poker,  shovel, 
tongs,  blower,  coal-scuttle,  and  holder  for  the  blower.  The 
latter  may  be  made  of  woolen,  covered  with  old  silk,  and 
hung  near  the  fire. 

Coal-stoves  should  be  carefully  put  up,  as  cracks  in  the 
pipe,  especially  in  sleeping  rooms,  are  dangerous. 


362  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


LIGHTS. 


Professor  Phin,  of  the  Manufacturer  and  Builder,  has 
kindly  given  us  some  late  information  on  this  important 
topic,  which  will  be  found  valuable. 

In  choosing  the  source  of  our  light,  the  great  points  to  be 
considered  are,  first,  the  influence  on  the  eyes,  and  second- 
ly, economy.  It  is  poor  economy  to  use  a  bad  light. 
Modern  houses  in  cities,  and  even  in  large  villages,  are 
furnished  with  gas ;  where  gas  is  not  used,  sperm-oil,  kero- 
sene or  coal-oil,  and  candles  are  employed.  Gas  is  the 
cheapest,  (or  ought  to  be ;)  and  if  properly  used,  is  as  good 
as  any.  Good  sperm-oil  burned  in  an  Argand  lamp — that  is, 
a  lamp  with  a  circular  wick,  like  the  astral  lamp  and 
others — is  perhaps  the  best ;  but  it  is  expensive  and  attend- 
ed with  many  inconveniences.  Good  kerosene  oil  gives  a 
light  which  leaves  little  to  be  desired.  Candles  are  used 
only  on  rare  occasions,  though  many  families  prefer  to 
manufacture  into  candles  the  waste  grease  that  accumu- 
lates in  the  household.  The  economy  of  any  source  of 
light  will  depend  so  much  upon  local  circumstances  that 
no  absolute  directions  can  be  given. 

The  effect  produced  by  light  on  the  eyes  depends  upon 
the  following  points  :  First,  Steadiness.  Nothing  is 
more  injurious  to  the  eyes  than  a  flickering,  unsteady 
flame.  Hence,  all  flames  used  for  light-giving  purposes 
ought  to  be  surrounded  with  glass  chimneys  or  small 
shades.  No  naked  flame  can  ever  be  steady.  Second, 
Color.  This  depends  greatly  upon  the  temperature  of  the 
flame.  A  hot  flame  gives  a  bright,  white  light ;  a  flame 
which  has  not  a  high  temperature  gives  a  dull,  yellow 
light,  which  is  very  injurious  to  the  eyes.  In  the  naked 
gas-jet  a  large  portion  of  the  flame  burns  at  a  low  tempe- 
rature, and  the  same  is  the  case  with  the  flame  of  the  kero- 
sene lamp  when  the  height  of  the  chimney  is  not  properly 
proportioned  to  the  amount  of  oil  consumed ;  a  high  wick 
needs  a  high  chimney.  In  the  case  of  a  well-trimmed  Ar 


FUf,ES    AND    LIGHTS.  363 

gand  oil-lamp,  or  an  Argand  burner  for  gas,  the  flame  is 
in  general  most  intensely  hot,  and  the  light  is  of  a  clear 
white  character. 

The  third  point  which  demands  attention  is  the  amoimt 
of  heat  transmitted  from  the  flame  to  the  eyes.  It  often 
happens  that  people,  in  order  to  economize  light,  bring  the 
lamp  quite  close  to  the  face.  This  is  a  very  bad  habit. 
The  heat  is  more  injurious  than  the  light.  Better  burn  a 
larger  flame,  and  keep  it  at  a  greater  distance. 

It  is  also  well  that  various  sized  lamps  should  be  pro- 
vided to  serve  the  varying  necessities  of  the  household  in 
regard  to  quantity  of  light.  One  of  the  very  best  forms 
of  lamp  is  that  known  as  the  "  student's  reading-lamp," 
which  is,  in  the  burner,  an  Argand.  Provide  small  lamps 
with  handles  for  carrying  about,  and  broad-bottomed  lamps 
for  the  kitchen,  as  these  are  not  easily  upset.  Hand  and 
kitchen  lamps  are  best  made  of  metal,  unless  they  are  to 
be  used  by  very  careful  persons. 

Sperm-oil,  lard,  tallow,  etc.,  have  been  superseded  to 
such  an  extent  by  kerosene  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while 
to  give  any  special  directions  in  regard  to  them.  In  the 
choice  of  kerosene,  attention  should  be  paid  to  two  points  : 
its  safety  and  its  light-giving  qualities.  Kerosene  is  not  a 
simple  fluid,  like  water ;  but  is  a  mixture  of  several 
liquids,  all  of  which  boil  at  different  temperatures.  Good 
kerosene  oil  should  be  purified  from  all  that  portion  which 
boils  or  evaporates  at  a  low  temperature ;  for  it  is  the 
production  of  this  vapor,  and  its  mixture  with  atmospheric 
air,  that  gives  rise  to  those  terrible  explosions  which  some- 
times occur  when  a  light  is  brought  near  a  can  of  poor  oil. 
To  test  the  oil  in* this  respect,  pour  a  little  into  an  iron 
spoon,  and  heat  it  over  a  lamp  until  it  is  moderately  warm 
to  the  touch.  If  the  oil  produces  vapor  which  can  be  set 
on  fire, by  means  of  a  flame  held  a  short  distance  above  the 
surface  of  the  liquid,  it  is  bad.  Good  oil  poured  into  a 
teacup  or  on  the  floor  does  not  easily  take  fire  when  a 


364  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

light  is  brought  in  contact  with  it.  Poor  oil  will  instantly 
ignite  under  the  same  circumstances,  and  hence,  the 
breaking  of  a  lamp  filled  with  poor  oil  is  always  attended 
by  great  peril  of  a  conflagration.  Not  only  the  safety  but 
also  the  light-giving  qualities  of  kerosene  are  greatly  en- 
hanced by  the  removal  of  these  volatile  and  dangerous  oils. 
Hence,  while  good  kerosene  should  be  clear  in  color  and 
free  from  all  matters  which  can  gum  up  the  wick  and  thus 
interfere  with  free  circulation  and  combustion,  it  should 
also  be  perfectly  safe.  It  ought  to  be  kept  in  a  cool,  dark 
place,  and  carefully  excluded  from  the  air. 

The  care  of  lamps  requires  so  much  attention  and  discre- 
tion, that  many  ladies  choose  to  do  this  work  themselves, 
rather  than  trust  it  with  domestics.  To  do  it  properly, 
provide  the  following  things :  an  old  waiter  to  hold  all  the 
articles  used  ;  a  lamp-filler,  with  a  spout,  small  at  the  end, 
and  turned  up  to  prevent  oil  from  dripping ;  proper  wicks, 
and  a  basket  or  box  to  hold  them  ;  a  lamp-trimmer  made 
for  the  purpose,  or  a  pair  of  sharp  scissors ;  a  small  soap- 
cup  and  soap ;  some  washing  soda  in  a  broad-mouthed 
bottle;  and  several  soft  cloths  to  wash  the  articles  and 
towels  to  wipe  them.  If  every  thing,  after  being  used,  is 
cleansed  from  oil  and  then  kept  neatly,  it  will  not  be  so 
unpleasant  a  task  as  it  usually  is,  to  take  care  of  lamps. 

The  inside  of  lamps  and  oil-cans  should  be  cleansed  with* 
soda  dissolved  in  water.  Be  careful  to  drain  them  well, 
and  not  to  let  any  gilding  or  bronze  be  injured  by  the 
soda  coming  in  contact  with  it.  Put  one  table-spoonful 
of  soda  to  one  quart  of  water.  Take  the  lamp  to  pieces 
and  clean  it  as  often  as  necessary.  Wipe  the  chimney  at 
least  once  a  day,  and  wash  it  whenever  mere  wiping  fails  to 
cleanse  it.  Some  persons,  owing  to  the  dirty  state  of  their 
chimneys,  lose  half  the  light  which  is  produced.  Keep  dry 
fingers  in  trimming  lamps.  Eenew  the  wicks  before  they 
get  too  short.  They  should  never  be  allowed  to  burn 
shorter  than  an  inch  and  a  half. 


FIRES    AND    LIGHTS.  365 

In  regard  to  shades,  which  are  always  well  to  use,  on 
lamps  or  gas,  those  made  of  glass  or  porcelain  are  now  so 
cheap  that  we  can  recommend  them  as  the  best  without 
any  reservation,  Plain  shades,  making  the  light  soft  and 
even,  do  not  injure  the  eyes.  Lamps  should  be  lighted 
with  a  strip  of  folded  or  rolled  paper,  of  which  a  quantity 
should  be  kept  on  the  mantelpiece.  Weak  eyes  should 
always  be  especially  shaded  from  the  lights.  Small 
screens,  made  for  the  purpose,  should  be  kept  at  hand.  A 
person  with  weak  eyes  can  use  them  safely  much  longer 
when  they  are  protected  from  the  glare  of  the  light.  Fill 
the  entry-lamp  every  day,  and  cleanse  and  fill  night-lan- 
terns twice  a  week,  if  used  often.  A  good  night-lamp  is 
made  with  a  small  one- wicked  lamp  and  a  roll  of  tin  to 
set  over  it.  Have  some  holes  made  in  the  bottom  of  this 
cover,  and  it  can  then  be  used  to  heat  articles.  Yery 
cheap  floating  tapers  can  be  bought  to  burn  in  a  teacup 
of  oil  through  the  night. 

TO  MAKE    CANDLES. 

The  nicest  candles  are  those  run  in  moulds.  For  this 
purpose,  melt  together  one  quarter  of  a  pound  of  white 
wax,  one  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  camphor,  two  ounces  of 
alum,  and  ten  ounces  of  suet  or  mutton-tallow.  Soak  the 
wicks  in  lime-water  and  saltpetre,  and  when  dry,  fix  them 
in  the  moulds  and  pour  in  the  melted  tallow.  Let  them 
remain  one  night  to  cool ;  then  warm  them  a  little  to  loos- 
en them,  draw  them  out,  and  when  they  are  hard,  put  them 
in  a  box  in  a  dry  and  cool  place. 

To  make  dipped  candles,  cut  the  wicks  of  the  right 
length,  double  them  over  rods,  and  twist  them.  They 
should  first  be  dipped  in  lime-water  or  vinegar,  and  dried. 
Melt  the  tallow  in  a  large  kettle,  filling  it  to  the  top  with 
hot  water,  when  the  tallow  is  melted.  Put  in  wax  and 
powdered  alum,  to  harden  them.  Keep  the  tallow  hot 


i<66  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

over  a  portable  furnace,  and  fill  the  kettle  with  hot  watei 
as  fast  as  the  tallow  is  used  up.  Lay  two  long  strips  of 
narrow  board  on  which  to  hang  the  rods ;  and  set  flat  pans 
under,  on  the  floor,  to  catch  the  grease.  "Lake  several  rods 
at  once,  and  wet  the  wicks  in  the  tallow ;  straighten  and 
smooth  them  when  cool.  Then  dip  them  as  fast  as  they 
cool,  until  they  become  ,of  the  proper  size.  Plunge  them 
obliquely  and  not  perpendicularly  ;  and  when  the  bottoms 
are  too  large,  hold  them  in  the  hot  grease  till  a  part  melts 
oft  Let  them  remain  one  night  to  cool ;  then  cut  off  the 
bottoms,  and  keep  them  in  a  dry,  cool  place.  Cheap  lights 
are  made,  by  dipping  rushes  in  tallow ;  the  rushes  being 
first  stripped  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  hard  outer  cover- 
ing and  the  pith  alone  being  retained  with  just  enough  of 
the  tough  bark  to  keep  it  stiff. 


JOJL 

THE   CARE   OF  KOOM8. 

IT  would  be  impossible  in  a  work  dealing,  as  this  does, 
with  general  principles  of  house-keeping,  to  elaborate  in 
full  the"  multitudinous  details  which  arise  for  attention  and 
intelligent  care.  These  will  be  more  largely  treated  of  in 
the  book  soon  to  be  published  for  the  present  writer,  (the 
senior  authoress  of  this  volume.)  Yet,  in  the  different 
departments  of  family  labor,  there  are  certain  leading 
matters  'concerning  which  a  few  hints  may  be  found  useful 
in  aiding  the  reader  to  carry  into  operation  the  instruc- 
tions and  ideas  of  the  earlier  chapters  of  this  book,  and  in 
promoting  the  general  comfort  and  convenience  of  fami- 
lies. 

And  first,  asking  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  that  these 
suggestions  are  chiefly  applicable  to  country  homes,  not 
within  easy  reach  of  all  the  conveniences  which  go  under 
the  name  of  "  modern  improvements,"  we  will  say  a  few 
words  on  the  care  of  Parlors. 

In  hanging  pictures,  put  them  so  that  the  lower  part 
shall  be  opposite  the  eye.  Cleanse  the  glass  of  pictures 
with  whiting,  as  water  endangers  the  pictures.  Gilt 
frames  can  be  much  better  preserved  by  putting  on  a  coat 
of  copal  varnish,  which  with  proper  brushes,  can  be  bought 
of  carriage  or  cabinet-makers.  When  dry,  it  can  be 
washed  with  fair  water.  Wash  the  brush  in  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine. 

Curtains,  ottomans,  and  sofas  covered  with  worsted,  can  be 
cleansed  with  wheat  bran,  rubbed  on  with  flannel.  Shades 


o68  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

of  linen  or  cotton,  on  rollers  and  pulleys,  are  always  useful 
to  shut  out  the  sun  from  curtains  and  carpets.  Paper  cur- 
tains, pasted  on  old  cotton,  are  good  for  chambers.  Put 
them  on  rollers,  having  cords  nailed  to  them,  so  that  when 
the  curtain  falls,  the  cord  will  be  wound  up.  Then,  by 
pulling  the  cord,  the  curtain  Vll  be  rolled  up. 

Varnished  furniture  should  be  rubbed  only  with  silk,  ex- 
cept occasionally,  when  a  little  sweet-oil  should  be  rubbed 
over,  and  wiped  off  carefully.  For  unvarnished  furniture, 
use  bees-wax,  a  little  softened  with  sweet-oil ;  rub  it  in  with 
a  hard  brush,  and  polish  with  woolen  and  silk  rags.  Some 
persons  rub  in  linseed- oil ;  others  mix  bees- wax  with  a  little 
spirits  of  turpentine  and  rosin,  making  it  so  that  it  can  be 
put  on  with  a  sponge,  and  wiped  off  with  a  soft  rag.  Oth- 
ers keep  in  a  bottle  the  following  mixture :  two  ounces  of 
spirits  of  turpentine,  four  table-spoonfuls  of  sweet-oil,  and 
one  quart  of  milk.  This  is  applied  with  a  sponge,  and 
wiped  off  with  a  linen  rag. 

Hearths  and  jambs,  of  brick,  look  best  painted  over  with 
black  lead,  mixedwith  soft-soap.  Wash  the  bricks  which 
are  nearest  the  fire  wifh  Tedding  and  milk,  using  a  painter's 
brush.  A  sheet  of  zinc,  covering  the  whole  hearth,  is 
cheap,  saves  work,  and  looks  very  well.  A  tinman  can  fit 
it  properly. 

Stone  hearths  should  be  rubbed  with  a  paste  of  powdered 
stone,  (to  be  procured  of  the  stone-cutters,)  and  then  brushed 
with  a  stiff  brush.  Kitchen  hearths,  of  stone,  are  improved 
by  rubbing  in  lamp-oil. 

Stains  can  be  removed  from  marble,  by  oxalic  acid  and 
water,  or  oil  of  vitriol  and  water,  left  on  a  few  minutes, 
and  then  rubbed  dry.  Gray  marble  is  improved  by  lin- 
seed-oil. Grease  can  be  taken  from  marble,  by  ox-gall  and 
potter's  clay  wet  with  soapsuds,  (a  gill  of  each.)  It  is  bet- 
ter to  add,  also,  a  gill  of  spirits  of  turpentine.  It  improves 
the  looks  of  marble,  to  cover  it  with  this  mixture,  leaving 
it  two  days,  and  then  rubbing  it  off. 


THE    CARE   OF  ROOMS.  369 

Unless  a  parlor  is  in  constant  use,  it  is  best  to  sweep  it 
only  once  a  week,  and  at  other  times  use  a  whisk-broom 
and  dust-pan.  When  a  parlor  with  handsome  furniture 
is  to  be  swept,  cover  the  sofas,  centre  table,  piano,  books, 
and  mantelpiece  with  old  cottons  kept  for  the  purpose. 
Remove  the  rugs  and  shake  them,  and  clean  the  jambs, 
hearth,  and  fire-furniture.  Then  sweep  the  room,  moving 
every  article.  Dust  the  furniture  with  a  dust-brush  and  a 
piece  of  old  silk.  A  painter's  brush  should  be  kept,  to  re- 
move dust  from  ledges  and  crevices.  The  dust-cloths 
should  be  often  shaken  and  washed,  or  else  they  will  soil 
the  walls  and  furniture  when  they  are  used.  Dust  orna- 
ments and  fine  books  with  feather  brushes,  used  for  no 
other  purpose. 

Chambers  and  Bedrooms  are  of  course  a  portion  of  the 
house  to  be  sedulously  and  scrupulously  attended  to,  if 
either  health  or  comfort  are  aimed  at  in  the  family.  And 
first,  every  mistress  of  a  family  should  see,  not  only  that 
all  sleeping-rooms  in  her  house  can  be  well  ventilated  at 
night,  but  that  they  actually  are  so.  Where  there  is  no 
provision  made  for  the  introduction  of  pure  air,  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  house,  and  in  the  bedroom  itself  no  open 
fire-place  to  allow  the  easy  exit  of  foul  air,  a  door  should 
be  left  open  into  an  entry  or  room  where  fresh  air  is 
admitted;  or  else  a  small  opening  should  be  made  in  a 
window,  taking  care  not  to  allow  a  draught  of  air  to  cros? 
the  bed.  The  debility  of  childhood,  the  lassitude  of  domes- 
tics, and  the  ill-health  of  families,  are  often  caused  by  ne- 
glecting to  provide  a  supply  of  pure  air. 

It  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  add  much  to  the  earlier 
chapters  treating  of  bedroom  conveniences ;  but  one  sub- 
ject is  of  marked  importance,  as  being  characteristic  of 
good  or  poor  housekeeping — that  is,  the  making  of  beds. 

Few  servants  will  make  a  bed  properly,  without  much 
attention  from  the  mistress  of  the  family ;  and  every  young 
woman  who  expects  to  have  a  household  of  her  own  to 


370  THE  AMERICAS   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

manage  should  be  able  to  do  it  well  herself,  and  to  instruct 
others  in  doing  it.  The  following  directions  should  be 
given  to  those  who  do  this  work : 

Open  the  windows,  and  lay  off  the  bed-covering  on  two 
chairs,  at  the  foot  of  the  bed.  If  it  be  a  feather.-bed,  after 
it  is  well  aired,  shake  the  feathers  from  each  corner  to  the 
middle ;  then  take  up  the  middle,  shake  it  well,  and  turn 
the  bed  over.  Then  push  the  feathers  in  place,  making 
the  head  higher  than  the  foot,  and  the  sides  even,  and  as 
high  as  the  middle  part.  A  mattress,  whether  used  on  top 
of  a  feather-  bed  or  by  itself,  should  in  like  manner  be  well 
aired  and  turned.  Then  put  on  the  bolster  and  the  under 
sheet,  so  that  the  wrong  side  of  the  sheet  shall  go  next  the 
bed,  and  the  marking  always  come  at  the  head,  tucking  in 
all  around.  Then  put  on  the  pillows,  evenly,  so  that  the 
open  ends  shall  come  to  the  sides  of  the  bed,  and  spread 
on  the  upper  sheet  so  that  the  wrong  side  shall  be  next 
the  blankets,  and  the  marked  end  always  at  the  head. 
This  arrangement  of  sheets  is  to  prevent  the  part  where 
the  feet  lie  from  being  reversed,  so  as  to  come  to  the  face ; 
and  also  to  prevent  the  parts  soiled  by  the  body  from  coin- 
ing to  the  bedtick  and  blankets.  Put  on  the  other  cover- 
ing, except  the  outer  one,  tucking  in  all  around,  and  then 
turn  over  the  upper  sheet  at  the  head,  so  as  to  show  a  part 
of  the  pillows.  When  the  pillow-cases  are  clean  and 
smooth,  they  look  best  outside  of  the  cover,  but  not  other- 
wise. Then  draw  the  hand  along  the  side  of  the  pillows, 
to  make  an  even  indentation,  and  then  smooth  and  shape 
the  whole  outside.  A  nice  housekeeper  always  notices  the 
manner  in  which  a  bed  is  made ;  and  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  it  is  rare  to  see  this  work  properly  performed. 

The  writer  would  here  urge  every  mistress  of  a  family, 
who  keeps  more  than  one  domestic  servant,  to  provide 
them  with  single  beds,  that  they  might  not  be  obliged  to 
sleep  with  all  the  changing  domestics,  who  come  and  go 
so  often.  Where  the  room  is  too  small  for  two  beds,  a  nar- 


THE    CARE    OF   ROOMS.  371 

row  truckle-bed  kept  under  another  during  the  day  will 
answer.  Domestics  should  be  furnished  with  washing 
conveniences  in  their  chambers,  and  be  encouraged  to  keep 
their  persons  and  rooms  neat  and  in  order. 

The  care  of  the  Kitchen,  Cellar,  and  Store-room  is  necessa- 
r'ty  the  foundation  of  all  proper  housekeeping. 

If  parents  wish  their  daughters  to  grow  up  with  good 
domestic  habits,  they  should  have,  as  one  means  of  secur- 
ing this  result,  a  neat  and  cheerful  kitchen.  A  kitchen 
should  always,  if  possible,  be  entirely  above-ground,  and 
well  lighted.  It  should  have  a  large  sink,  with  a  drain 
running  under-ground,  so  that  all  the  premises  may  be 
kept  sweet  and  clean.  If  flowers  and  shrubs  be  cultivated 
around  the  doors  and  windows,  and  the  yard  near  them 
be  kept  well  turfed,  it  will  add  very  much  to  their  agreeable 
appearance.  The  walls  should  often  be  cleaned  and  white- 
washed, to  promote  a  neat  look  and  pure  air.  The  floor 
of  a  kitchen  should  be  painted,  or,  what  is  better,  covered 
with  an  oilcloth.  To  procure  a  kitchen  oilcloth  as  cheaply 
as  possible,  buy  cheap  tow  cloth,  and  fit  it  to  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  kitchen.  Then  have  it  stretched,  and  nailed 
to  the  south  side  of  the  barn,  and,  with  a  brush,  cover  it 
with  a  coat  of  thin  rye  paste.  When  this  is  dry,  put  on  a 
coat  of  yellow  paint,  and  let  it  dry  for  a  fortnight.  It  is 
safest  to  first  try  the  paint,  and  see  if  it  dries  well,  as  some 
paint  never  will  dry.  Then  put  on  a  second  coat,  and  at 
the  end  of  another  fortnight,  a  third  coat.  Then  let  it 
hang  two  months,  and  it  will  last,  uninjured,  for  many 
years.  The  longer  the  paint  is  left  to  dry,  the  better.  If 
varnished,  it  will  last  much  longer. 

A  sink  should  be  scalded  out  every  day,  and  occasionally 
with  hot  lye.  On  nails,  over  the  sink,  should  be  hung 
three  good  dish-cloths,  hemmed,  and  furnished  with  loops ; 
one  for  dishes  not  greasy,  one  for  greasy  dishes,  and  one 
for  washing  greasy  pots  and  kettles.  These  should  be  put 
in  the  wash  every  week.  The  lady  who  insists  upon  this 


372  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

will  not  be  annoyed  by  having  her  dishes  washed  with 
dark,  musty  and  greasy  rags,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case. 
Under  the  sink  should  be  kept  a  slop-pail ;  and,  on  a 
shelf  by  it,  a  soap-dish  and  two  water-pails.  A  large  boiler 
of  warm  soft  water  should  always  be  kept  over  the  fire, 
well  covered,  and  a  hearth-broom  and  bellows  be  hung 
near  the  fire.  A  clock  is  a  very  important  article  in  the 
kitchen,  in  order  to  secure  regularity  at  meals. 


WASHING  DISHES. 


No  item  of  domestic  labor  is  so  frequently  done  in  a 
negligent  manner,  by  domestics,  as  this.  A  full  supply  of 
conveniences  will  do  much  toward  the  remedy  of  this  evil. 
A  swab,  made  of  strips  of  linen  tied  to  a  stick,  is  useful 
to  wash  nice  dishes,  especially  small,  deep  articles.  Two 
or  three  towels,  and  three  dish-cloths  should  be  used.  Two 
large  tin  tubs,  painted  on  the  outside,  should  be  provided ; 
one  for  washing,  and  one  for  rinsing ;  also,  a  large  old 
waiter,  on  which  to  drain  the  dishes.  A  soap-disa,  with 
hard  soap,  and  a  fork,  with  which  to  use  it,  a  slop-pail,  and 
two  pails  for  water,  should  also  be  furnished.  The  follow- 
ing rules  for  washing  dishes  will  aid  in  promoting  the  de- 
sired care  and  neatness : 

1.  Scrape  the  dishes,  putting  away  any  food  which  may 
remain  on  them,  and  which  it  may  be  proper  to  save  for 
future  use.     Put  grease  into  the  grease-pot,  and  whatever 
else  may  be  on  the  plates  into  the  slop-pail.     Save  tea- 
leaves  for  sweeping.     Set  all  the  dishes,  when  scraped,  in 
regular  piles,  the  smallest  at  the  top. 

2.  Put  the  nicest  articles  in  the  wash-dish,  and  wash 
them    in   hot   suds  with   the   swab  or  nicest   dish-cloth. 
Wipe  all  metal  articles  as  soon  as  they  are  washed.     Put 
all  the  rest  into  the  rinsing-dish,  which  should  be  filled  with 
hot  water.     When  they  are  taken  out,  lay  them  to  drain 
on  the  waiter.     Then  rinse  the  dish-cloth,  and  hang  it  up 
wipe  the  articles  washed,  and  put  them  in  their  placets. 


THE   CARE    OF  ROOMS.  373 

3.  Pour  in  more  hot  water,  wash  the  greasy  dishes  with 
the  dish-cloth  made  for  them,  rinse  them,  and  set  them  to 
drain.    Wipe  them,  and  set  them  away/  Wash  the  knives 
and  forks,  being  careful  that  the  handles  are  never  put  in  wa- 
ter; wipe  them,  and  then  lay  them  in  a  knife-dish,  to  be 
Bconred. 

4.  Take  a  fresh  supply  of  clean  suds,  in  which  wash 
the  milk-pans,  buckets,  and  tins.    Then  rinse  and  hang  up 
this  dish-cloth,  and  take  the  other,  with  which,  wash  the 
roaster,  gridiron,  pots,  and  kettles.      Then  wash'  and  rinse 
the  dish-cloth,  and  hang  it  up.     Empty  the  slop-bucket, 
and  scald  it.     Dry  metal  teapots  and  tins  before  the  fire. 
Then  put  the  fire-place  in  order,  and  sweep  and  dust  the 
kitchen. 

Some  persons  keep  a  deep  and  narrow  vessel,  in  which 
to  wash  knives  with  a  swab,  so  that  a  careless  servant  can 
not  lay  them  in  the  water  while  washing  them.  This  arti- 
cle can  be  carried  into  the  eating-room,  to  receive  the 
knives  and  forks  when  they  are  taken  from  the  table. 


KITCHEN  FURNITURE. 


Croclcery. — Brown  earthen  pans  are  said  to  be  best  for 
milk  and  for  cooking.  Tin  pans  are  lighter,  and  more  con- 
venient, but  are  too  cold  for  many  purposes.  Tall  earthen 
jars,  with  covers,  are  good  to  hold  butter,  salt,  lard,  etc. 
Acids  should  never  be  put  into  the  red  earthen  ware,  as 
there  is  a  poisonous  ingredient  in  the  glazing  which  the 
acid  takes  off.  Stone  ware  is  better  and  stronger,  and 
safer  every  way  than  any  other  kind. 

Iron  Ware. — Many  kitchens  are  very  imperfectly  supplied 
with  the  requisite  conveniences  for  cooking.  When  a  per- 
son has  sufficient  means,  the  following  articles  are  all  de- 
sirable :  A  nest  of  iron  pots,  of  different  sizes,  (they  should 
be  slowly  heated  when  new,)  a  long  iron  fork,  to  take  out 
articles  from  boiling  water ;  an  iron  hook,  with  a  handle,  to 
lift  pots  from  the  crane ;  a  large  and  small  gridiron,  with 


3,'4  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'* S  HOME. 

grooved  bars,  and  a  trench  to  catch  the  grease ;  a  Dutch 
oven,  called  also  a  bake-pan ;  two  skillets,  of  different  sizes, 
and  a  spider,  or  flat  skillet,  for  frying ;  a  griddle,  a  waffle- 
iron,  tin  and  iron  bake  and  bread  pans ;  two  ladles,  of  dif- 
ferent sizes ;  a  skimmer  ;  iron  skewers ;  a  toasting-iron  ; 
two  teakettles,  one  small  and  one  large  one ;  two  brass  ket- 
tles, of  different  sizes,  for  soap-boiling,  etc.  Iron  kettles, 
lined  with  porcelain,  are  better  for  preserves.  The  German 
are  the  best.  Too  hot  a  fire  will  crack  them,  but  with 
care  in  this  respect,  they  will  last  for  many  years. 

portable  charcoal  furnaces,  of  iron  or  clay,  are  very 
useful  in  summer,  in  washing,  ironing,  and  stewing,  or 
making  preserves.  If  used  in  the  house,  a  strong  draught 
must  be  made,  to  prevent  the  deleterious  effects  of  the 
charcoal.  A  box  and  mill,  for  spice,  pepper,  and  coffee, 
are  needful  to  those  who  use  these  articles.  Strong  knives 
and  forks,  a  sharp  carving-knife,  an  iron  cleaver  and  board, 
a  fine  saw,  steelyards,  chopping-tray  and  knife,  an  apple- 
parer,  steel  for  sharpening  knives,  sugar-nippers,  a  dozen 
iron  spoons,  also  a  large  iron  one  with  a  long  handle,  six 
or  eight  flat-irons,  one  of  them  very  small,  two  iron-stands, 
a  ruffle-iron,  a  crimping-iron,  are  also  desirable. 

Tin  Ware. — Bread-pans ;  large  and  small  patty-pans  ; 
cake-pans,  with  a  centre  tube  to  insure  their  baking  well ; 
pie-dishes,  (of  block-tin  ;)  a  covered  butter-kettle ;  covered 
kettles  to  hold  berries ;  two  sauce-pans ;  a  large  oil-can  ; 
(with  a  cock ;)  a  lamp-filler ;  a  lantern ;  broad  bottomed 
candlesticks  for  the  kitchen  ;  a  candle-box ;  a  funnel ;  a 
reflector  for  baking  warm  cakes ;  an  oven  or  tin-kitchen  ; 
an  apple-corer  ;  an  apple-roaster  ;  an  egg-boiler ;  two  su- 
gar-scoops, and  flour  and  meal-scoop  ;  a  set  of  mugs ; 
three  dippers ;  a  pint,  quart,  and  gallon  measure  ;  a  set  of 
scales  and  weights ;  three  or  four  pails,  painted  on  the  out- 
side ;  a  slop-bucket  with  a  tight  cover,  painted  on  the  out- 
side ;  a  milk-strainer ;  a  gravy-strainer ;  a  colander ;  a  dredg- 
ing-box ;  a  pepper-box  ;  a  large  and  small  grater ;  a  cheese- 


THE    CARE    OF  ROOMS.  375 

box ;  also  a  large  box  for  cake,  and  a  still  larger  one  for 
bread,  with  tight  covers.  Bread,  cake,  and  cheese,  shut 
up  in  this  way,  will  not  grow  dry  as  in  the  open  air. 

Wood&n  Ware. — A  nest  of  tubs;  a  set  of  pails  and 
bowls;  a  large  and  small  sieve;  a  beetle  for  mashing  po- 
tatoes ;  a  spade  or  stick  for  stirring  butter  and  sugar ;  a 
bread-board,  for  moulding  bread  and  making  pie-crust ;  a 
coffee-stick  ;  a  clothes- stick  ;  a  mush-stick ;  a  meat-beetle, 
to  pound  tough  meat ;  an  egg-beater ;  a  ladle,  for  working 
butter  ;  a  bread-trough,  (for  a  large  family ;)  flour-buckets, 
with  lids,  to  hold  sifted  flour  and  Indian  meal ;  salt-boxes  ; 
sugar-boxes  ;  starch  and  indigo-boxes ;  spice-boxes ;  a  bo- 
som-board ;  a  skirt-board  ;  a  large  ironing-board ;  two  or 
three  clothes-frames ;  and  six  dozen  clothes-pins. 

Basket  Ware. — Baskets  of  all  sizes,  for  eggs,  fruit,  mar- 
keting, clothes,  etc. ;  also  chip-baskets.  When  often  used, 
they  should  be  washed  in  hot  suds. 

Other  Articles. — Every  kitchen  needs  a  box  containing 
balls  of  brown  thread  and  twine,  a  large  and  small  darn- 
ing needle,  rolls  of  waste  paper  and  old  linen  and  cotton, 
and  a  supply  of  common  holders.  There  should  also  be 
another  box,  containing  a  hammer,  carpet-tacks,  and  nails 
of  all  sizes,  a  carpet  claw,  screws  and  a  screw-driver,  pin- 
cers, gimlets  of  several  sizes,  a  bed-screw,  a  small  saw,  two 
chisels,  (one  to  use  for  button-holes  in  broadcloth,)  two 
awls  and  two  files. 

In  a  drawer  or  cupboard  should  be  placed  cotton  table- 
cloths for  kitchen  use;  nice  crash  towels  for  tumblers, 
marked  T  T ;  coarser  towels  for  dishes  marked  T ;  six 
large  roller-towels ;  a  dozen  hand-towels,  marked  H  T ; 
and  a  dozen  hemmed  dish-cloths  with  loops.  Also  two 
thick  linen  pudding  or  dumpling-cloths,  a  jelly-bag  made 
of  white  flannel,  to  strain  jelly,  a  starch-strainer,  and  a  bag 
for  boiling  clothes. 

In  a  closet  should  be  kept,  arranged  in  order,  the  follow- 
ing articles  :  the  dust-pan,  dust-brush,  and  dusting-cloths, 


376  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN*  S  HOME. 

old  flannel  and  cotton  for  scouring  and  rubbing,  large 
sponges  for  washing  windows  and  looking-glasses,  a  long 
brush  for  cobwebs,  and  another  for  washing  the  outside 
of  windows,  whisk-brooms,  common  brooms,  a  co'at- broom 
or  brush,  a  whitewash-brush,  a  stove-brush,  shoe-brushes 
and  blacking,  articles  for  cleaning  tin  and  silver,  leather 
for  cleaning  metals,  bottles  containing  stain-mixtures  and 
other  articles  used  in  cleansing. 

CARE  OP  THE  CELLAR. 

A  cellar  should  often  be  whitewashed,  to  keep  it  sweet. 
It  should  have  a  drain  to  keep  it  perfectly  dry,  as  standing 
water  in  a  cellar  is  a  sure  cause  of  disease  in  a  family.  It 
is  very  dangerous  to  leave  decayed  vegetables  in  a  cellar. 
Many  a  fever  has  been  caused  by  the  poisonous  miasm  thus 
generated.  The  following  articles  are  desirable  in  a  cel- 
lar :  a  safe,  or  movable  closet,  with  sides  of  wire  or  perfo- 
rated tin,  in  which  cold  meats,  cream,  and  other  articles 
should  be  kept ;  (if  ants  be  troublesome,  set  the  legs  in  tin 
cups  of  water ;)  a  refrigerator,  or  a  large  wooden-box,  on 
feet,  with  a  lining  of  tin  or  zinc,  and  a  space  between  the 
tin  and  wood  filled  with  powdered  charcoal,  having  at  the 
bottom  a  place  for  ice,  a  drain  to  carry  off  the  water,  and 
also  movable  shelves  and  partitions.  In  this,  articles  are 
kept  cool.  It  should  be  cleaned  once  a  week.  Filtering 
jars  to  purify  water  should  also  be  kept  in  the  cellar. 
Fish  and  cabbages  in  a  cellar  are  apt  to  scent  a  house,  and 
give  a  bad  taste  to  other  articles. 

STOREROOM. 

Every  house  needs  a  storeroom,  in  which  to  keep  tea, 
coffee,  sugar,  rice,  candles,  etc.  It  should  be  furnished 
witli  jars,  having  labels,  a  large  spoon,  a  fork,  sugar  and 
flour-scoops,  a  towel,  and  a  dish-cloth. 


THE    CARE   OF  ROOMS.  377 

MODES  OF  DESTROYING  INSECTS  AND  VEBMIN. 

£ed-lugs  should  be  kept  away,  by  filling  every  chink  in 
the  bedstead  with  putty,  and  if  it  be  old,  painting  it  over. 
Of  all  the  mixtures  for  killing  them,  corrosive  sublimate 
and  alcohol  is  the  surest.  This  is  a  strong  poison. 

Cockroaches  may  be  destroyed  by  pouring  boiling  water 
into  their  haunts,  or  setting  a  mixture  of  arsenic  mixed 
with  Indian  meal  and  molasses  where  they  are  found. 
Chloride  of  lime  and  sweetened  water  will  also  poison 
them. 

Fleas. — If  a  dog  be  infested  with  these  insects,  put  him 
in  a  tub  of  warm  soapsuds,  and  they  will  rise  to  4he  sur- 
face. Take  them  off,  and  burn  them.  Strong  perfumes 
about  the  person  diminish  their  attacks.  When  caught 
between  the  fingers,  plunge  them  in  water,  or  they  will 
escape. 

Crickets. — Scalding,  and  sprinkling  Scotch  snuff  about 
the  haunts  of  these  insects,  are  remedies  for  the  annoyance 
caused  by  them. 

Flies  can  be  killed  in  great  quantities,  by  placing  about 
the  house  vessels  filled  with  sweetened  water  and  cobalt. 
Six  cents'  worth  of  cobalt  is  enough  for  a  pint  of  water. 
It  is  very  poisonous. 

Mosquitoes. — Close  nets  around  a  bed  are  the  only  sure 
protection  at  night  against  these  insects.  Spirits  of  harts- 
horn is  the  best  antidote  for  their  bite.  Salt  and  water  is 
good. 

Red  or  Black  Ants  may  be  driven  away  by  scalding 
their  haunts,  and  putting  Scotch  snuff  wherever  they  go 
for  food.  Set  the  legs  of  closets  and  safes  in  pans  of  water  j 
and  they  can  not  get  at  them. 

Moths. — Airing  clothes  does  not  destroy  moths,  but  lay- 
ing them  in  a  hot  sun  does.  If  articles  be  tightly  sewed 
up  in  linen  when  laid  away,  and  fine  tobacco  put  about 
them,  it  is  a  sure  protection.  This  should  be  done  in 
April. 


378  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Eats  and  Mice. — A  good  cat  is  the  best  remedy  for  these 
annoyances.  Equal  quantities  of  hemlock  (or  cicuta)  and 
old  cheese  will  poison  them ;  but  this  renders  the  house  lia- 
ble to  the  inconvenience  of  a  bad  smell.  This  evil,  however, 
may  be  lessened,  by  placing  a  dish  containing  oil  of  vitriol 
poured  on  saltpetre  where  the  smell  is  most  annoying. 
Chloride  of  lime  and  water  is  also  good. 

In  using  any  of  the  above-mentioned  poisons,  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  guard  against  their  getting  into  any 
article  of  food  or  any  utensil  or  vessel  used  for  cooking  or 
keeping  food,  or  where  children  can  get  at  them. 


THE  CAKE  OF  YAKDS  AND  GARDENS. 

FIRST,  let  us  say  a  few  words  on  the  Preparation  of  Soil. 
If  the  garden  soil  be  clayey  and  adhesive,  put  on  a  covering 
of  sand,  three  inches  thick,  and  the  same  depth  of  well-rot- 
ted manure.  Spade  it  in  as  deep  as  possible,  and  mix  it  well. 
If  the  soil  be  sandy  and  loose,  spade  in  clay  and  ashes. 
Ashes  are  good  for  all  kinds  of  soil,  as  they  loosen  those 
whicli  are  close,  hold  moisture  in  those  which  are  sandy, 
and  destroy  insects.  The  best  kind  of  soil  is  that  which 
will  hold  water  the  longest  without  becoming  hard  when 
dry. 

To  prepare  Soil  for  Pot  plants^  take  one  fourth  part  of 
common  soil,  one  fourth  part  of  well-decayed  manure,  and 
one  half  of  vegetable  mould,  from  the  woods  or  from  a 
chip-yard.  Break  up  the  manure  fine,  and  sift  it  through 
a  lime-screen,  (or  coarse  wire  sieve.)  These  materials  must 
be  thoroughly  mixed.  When  the  common  soil  which  is 
used  is  adhesive,  and  indeed  in  most  other  cases,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  add  sand,  the  proportion  of  which  must  depend 
on  the  nature  of  the  soil. 

To  Prepare  a  Hot-Bed,  dig  a  pit  six  feet  long,  five  feet 
wide,  and  thirty  inches  deep.  Make  a  frame  of  the  same  size, 
with  the  back  two  feet  high,  the  front  fifteen  inches,  and  the 
sides  sloped  from  the  back  to  the  front.  Make  two  sashes, 
each  three  feet  by  five,  with  the  panes  of  glass  lapping 
like  shingles  instead  of  having  cross-bars.  Set  the  frame 
over  the  pit,  whicli  should  then  be  filled  with  fresh  horse- 
dung,  which  has  not  lain  long  nor  been  sodden  by  water 


380 

Tread  it  down  hard ;  then  put  into  the  frame  light  and 
very  rich  soil,  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  and  cover  it  with 
the  sashes  for  two  or  three  days.  Then  stir  the  soil,  and 
sow  the  seeds  in  shallow  drills,  placing  sticks  by  them, 
to  mark  the  different  kinds.  Keep  the  frame  covered  with 
the  glass  whenever  it  is  cold  enough  to  chill  the  plants ; 
but  at  all  other  times  admit  fresh  air,  which  is  indispensa- 
ble to  their  health.  When  the  sun  is  quite  warm,  raise 
the  glasses  enough  to  admit  air,  and  cover  them  with  mat- 
ting or  blankets,  or  else  the  sun  may  kill  the  young  plants. 
Water  the  bed  at  evening  with  water  which  has  stood  all 
day,  or,  if  it  be  fresh  drawn,  add  a  little  warm  water.  If 
there  be  too  much  heat  in  the  bed,  so  as  to  scorch  or  wither 
the  plants,  lift  the  sashes,  water  freely,  shade  by  day ;  make 
deep  holes  with  stakes,  and  fill  them  up  when  the  heat 
is  re'duced.  In  very  cold  nights,  cover  the  sashes  and 
frame  with  straw-mats. 

For  Planting  Flower  Seeds. — Break  up  the  soil,  till  it  is 
very  soft,  and  free  from  lumps.  Rub  that  nearest  the  sur- 
face between  the  hands,  to  make  it  fine.  Make  a  circular 
drill  a  foot  in  diameter.  Seeds  are  to  be  planted  either 
deeper  or  nearer  the  surface,  according  to  their  size.  For 
seeds  as  large  as  sweet  peas,  the  drill  should  be  half  an  inch 
deep.  The  smallest  seeds  must  be  planted  very  near  the  sur- 
face, and  a  very  little  fine  earth  be  sifted  over  them.  After 
covering  them  with  soil,  beat  them  down  with  a  trowel,  so  as 
to  make  the  earth  as  compact  as  it  is  after  a  heavy  shower. 
Set  up  a  stick  in  the  middle  of  the  circle,  with  the 
name  of  the  plant  heavily  written  upon  it  with  a  clark  lead 
pencil.  This  remains  more  permanent  if  white-lead  be  first 
rubbed  over  the  surface.  Never  plant  when  the  soil  is  very 
wet.  In  very  dry  times,  water  the  seeds  at  night.  Never  use 
very  cold  water.  When  the  seeds  are  small,  many  should  be 
planted  together,  that  they  may  assist  each  other  in  break- 
ing the  soil.  When  the  plants  are  an  inch  high,  thin  them 
out,  leaving  only  one  or  two,  if  the  plant  be  a  large  one, 


CARE    OF    YARDS    AND     GARDENS.  381 

like  the  balsam ;  five  or  six,  when  it  is  of  a  medium  size ; 
and  eighteen  or  twenty  of  the  smaller  size.  Transplant- 
ing, unless  the  plant  be  lifted  with  a  ball  of  earth,  retards 
the  growth  about  a  fortnight.  It  is  best  to  plant  at  two 
different  times,  lest  the  first  planting  should  fail,  owing  to 
wet  or  cold  weather. 

To  plant  Garden-Seeds,  make  the  beds  from  one  to 
three  yards  wide ;  lay  across  them  a  board  a  foot  wide, 
and  with  a  stick,  make  a  furrow  on  each  side  of  it,  one 
inch  deep.  Scatter  the  seeds  in  this  furrow,  and  cover 
them.  Then  lay  the  board  over  them,  and  step  on  it,  to 
press  down  the  earth.  When  the  plants  are  an  inch  high, 
thin  them  out,  leaving  spaces  proportioned  to  their  sizes. 
Seeds  of  similar  species,  such  as  melons  and  squashes, 
should  not  be  planted  very  near  to  each  other,  as  this  causes 
them  to  degenerate.  The  same  kinds  of  vegetables  should 
not  be  planted  in  the  same  place  for  two  years  in  succes- 
sion. The  longer  the  rows  are,  the  easier  is  the  after  cul- 
ture. 

Transplanting  should  be  done  at  evening,  or  which  is 
better,  just  before  a  shower.  Take  a  round  stick  sharpened 
at  the  point,  and  make  openings  to  receive  the  plants.  Set 
them  a  very  little  deeper  than  they  were  before,  and  press 
the  soil  firmly  round  them.  Then  water  them,  and  cover 
them  for  three  or  four  days,  taking  care  that  sufficient  air  be 
admitted.  If  the  plant  can  be  removed  without  disturbing 
the  soil  around  the  root,  it  will  not  be  at  all  retarded  by 
transplanting.  Never  remove  leaves  and  branches,  unless 
a  part  of  the  roots  be  lost. 

To  Re-pot  House-Plants,  renew  the  soil  every  year,  soon 
after  the  time  of  blossoming.  Prepare  soil  as  previously 
directed.  Loosen  the  earth  from  the  pot  by  passing  a 
knife  around  the  sides.  Turn  the  plant  upside  down,  and 
remove  the  pot.  Then  remove  all  the  matted  fibres  at  the 
bottom,  and  all  the  earth,  except  that  which  adheres  to  the 
roots.  From  woody  plants,  like  roses,  shake  off  all  the 


382  TEE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

earth.  Take  the  new  pot,  and  put  a  piece  of  broken 
earthen- ware  over  the  hole  at  the  bottom,  and  then,  hold- 
ing the  plant  in  the  proper  position,  shake  in  the  earth 
around  it.  Then  pour  in  water  to  settle  the  earth,  and 
heap  on  fresh  soil,  till  the  pot  is  even  full.  Small  pots  are 
considered  better  than  large  ones,  as  the  roots  are  not  so 
likely  to  rot,  from  excess  of  moisture. 

In  the  Laying  out  of  Yards  and  Gardens,  there  is  room 
for  much  judgment  and  taste.  In  planting  trees  in  u  yard, 
they  should  be  arranged  in  groups,  and  never  planted  in 
straight  lines,  nor  sprinkled  about  as  solitary  trees.  The 
object  of  this  arrangement  is  to  imitate  Nature,  and  secure 
some  spots  of  dense  shade  and  some  of  clear  turf.  In 
yards  which  are  covered  with  turf,  beds  can  be  cut  out  of 
it,  and  raised  for  flowers.  A  trench  should  be  made  around, 
to  prevent  the  grass  from  running  on  them.  These  beds 
can  be  made  in  the  shape  of  crescents,  ovals,  or  other  fan- 
ciful forms. 

In  laying  out  beds  in  gardens  and  yards,  a  very  pretty 
bordering  can  be  made,  by  planting  them  with  common 
flax-seed,  in  a  line  about  three  inches  from  the  edge.  This 
can  be  trimmed  with  shears,  when  it  grows  too  high. 

For  Transplanting  Trees,  the  autumn  is  the  best  time. 
Take  as  much  of  the  root  as  possible,  especially  the  little 
fibres,  which  should  never  become  dry.  If  kept  long  be- 
fore they  are  set  out,  put  wet  moss  around  them  and  water 
them.  Dig  holes  larger  than  the  extent  of  the  roots  ;  let 
one  person  hold  the  tree  in  its  former  position,  and  another 
place  the  roots  carefully  as  they  were  before,  cutting  off 
any  broken  or  wounded  root.  Be  careful  not  to  let  the  tree 
oe  more  than  an  inch  deeper  than  it  was  before.  Let  the  soil 
be  soft  and  well  manured  ;  shake  the  tree  as  the  soil  is 
shaken  in,  that  it  may  mix  well  among  the  small  fibres.  Do 
not  tread  the  earth  down,  while  filling  the  hole ;  but, 
when  it  is  full,  raise  a  slight  mound  of  say  four  inches 
deep  around  the  stem  to  hold  water,  and  fill  it.  Never 


\ 
CARE    OF    YARDS   AND    GARDENS.  383 

cut  off  leaves  nor  branches,  unless  some  of  the  roots  are 
lost.  Tie  the  trees  to  a  stake,  and  they  will  be  more  likely 
to  Irve.  Water  them  often. 

The  Care  of  House-Plants  is  a  matter  of  daily  atten- 
tion, and  well  repays  all  labor  expended  upon  it.  The  soil 
of  house-plants  should  be  renewed  every  year  as  previous- 
ly directed.  In  winter,  they  should  be  kept  as  dry  as  they 
can  be  without  wilting.  Many  house-plants  are  injured 
by  giving  them  too  much  water,  when  they  have  little  light 
and  fresh  air.  This  makes  them  grow  spindling.  The 
more  fresh  air,  warmth  and  light  they  have,  the  more  wa- 
ter is  needed.  They  ought  not  to  be  kept  very  warm  in 
winter,  nor  exposed  to  great  change's  of  atmosphere.  For- 
ty degrees  is  a  proper  temperature  for  plants  in  winter, 
when  they  have  little  sun  and  air.  When  plants  have  be- 
come spindling,  cut  off  their  heads  entirely,  and  cover  the 
pot  in  the  earth,  where  it  has  the  morning  sun  only.  A 
new  and  flourishing  head  will  spring  out.  Few  house- 
plants  can  bear  the  sun  at  noon.  When  insects  infest 
plants,  set  them  in  a  closet  or  under  a  barrel,  and  burn  to- 
bacco under  them.  The  smoke  kills  any  insect  enveloped 
in  it.  When  plants  are  frozen,  cold  water  and  a  gradual 
restoration  of  warmth  are  the  best  remedies.  Never  use 
very  cold  water  for  plants  at  any  season. 


xxxn. 

THE   PROPAGATION   OF   PLANTS. 

THIS  is  an  occupation  requiring  much  attention  and  con- 
stant care.  Bulbous  roots  are  propagated  by  offsets  ;  some 
growing  on  the  top,  others  around  the  sides.  Many  plants 
are  propagated  by  cutting  off  twigs,  and  setting  them  in 
earth,  so  that  two  or  three  eyes  are  covered.  To  do  this, 
select  a  side  shoot,  ten  inches  long,  two  inches  of  it  being 
of  the  preceding  year's  growth,  and  the  rest  the  growth 
of  the  season  when  it  is  set.  Do  this  when  the  sap  is 
running,  and  put  a  piece  of  crockery  at  the  bottom  of  the 
shoot,  when  it  is  buried.  One  eye,  at  least,  must  be  under 
the  soil.  Water  it  and  shade  it  in  hot  weather. 

Plants  are  also  propagated  by  layers.  To  do  this,  take 
a  shoot  which  comes  up  near  the  root,  bend  it  down  so  as 
to  bring  several  eyes  under  the  soil,  leaving  the  top  above- 
ground.  If  the  shoot  be  cut  half  through,  in  a  slanting 
direction,  at  one  of  these  eyes,  before  burying  it,  the  re- 
sult is  more  certain.  Roses,  honeysuckles,  and  many  other 
shrubs  are  readily  propagated  thus.  They  will  generally 
take  root  by  being  simply  buried ;  but  cutting  them  as 
here  directed  is  the  best  method.  Layers  are  more  certain 
than  cuttings. 

Budding  and  Grafting,  for  all  woody  plants,  are  favo- 
rite methods  of  propagation.  In  all  such  plants,  there  is 
an  outer  and  inner  bark,  the  latter  containing  the  sap  ves- 
sels, in  which  the  nourishment  of  the  tree  ascends.  The  suc- 
cess of  grafting  or  inoculating  consists  in  so  placing  the 
bud  or  graft  that  the  sap  vessels  of  the  inner  bark  shall 


THE    PROPAGATION    OF   PLANTS. 


385 


Fig.  64. 


exactly  join  those  of  the  plant  into  which  they  are  grafted, 
so  that  the  sap  may  pass  from  one  into  the  other. 
,    The  following  are  directions  for  budding ',  which  may  be 
performed  at  any  time  from  July  to  September : 

Select  a  smooth  place  on  the  stock  into  which  you  are  to 
insert  the  bud.  Make  a  horizontal  cut  across  the  rind 
through  to  the  firm  wood ;  and  from  the  middle  of  this, 
make  a  slit  downward  perpendicularly,  an  inch  or  more 
long,  through  to  the  wood.  Raise  the  bark  of  the  stock  on 

each  side  of 
the  perpen- 
dicular cut, 
for  the  ad- 
mission of 
the  bud,  as 
is  shown  in 
the  annexed 
engraving, 
(Fig.  64.) 
Then  take  a 
shoot  of 
this  year's 
growth,  and 
slice  from  it 
a  bud,  tak- 
ing an  inch 
below  and 
an  inch 
above  it, 

and  some  portion  of  the  wood  under  it.  Then,  carefully 
slip  off  the  woody  part  under  the  bud.  Examine  whether 
the  eye  or  germ  of  the  bud  be  perfect.  If  a  little  hole  ap- 
pear in  that  part,  the  bud  has  lost  its  root,  and  another 
must  be  selected.  Insert  the  bud,  so  that  a,  of  the  bud, 
shall  pass  to  a,  of  the  stock ;  then  J,  of  the  bud,  must  be 
cut  off,  to  match  the  cut  b,  in  the  stock,  and  fitted  exactly 


$86 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  65. 


to  it,  as  it  is  this  alone  which  insures  success.  Bind  the 
parts  with  fresh  bass  or  woolen  yarn,  beginning  a  little 
below  the  bottom  of  the  perpendicular  slit,  and  winding  it 
closely  around  every  part,  except  just  over  the  eye  of  the 
bud,  until  you  arrive  above  the  horizontal  cut.  Do  not 
bind  it  too  tightly,  but  just  sufficient  to  exclude  air,  sun, 
and  wet.  This  is  to  be  removed  after  the  bud  is  firmly 
fixed,  and  begins  to  grow. 

Seed-fruit  can  be  budded  into  any  other  seed-fruit,  and 
stone-fruit  into  any  other  stone-fruit ;  but  stone  and  seed- 
fruits  can  not  be  thus  mingled. 

Rose-bushes  can  have  a  variety  of  kinds  budded  into  the 
same  stock.  Hardy  roots  are  the  best  stocks.  The  branch 
above  the  bud  must  be  cut  off  the  next  March  or  April  af- 
ter the  bud  is  put  in.  Apples  and  pears  are  more  easily 
propagated  by  ingrafting  than  by  budding. 

Ingrafting  is  a  similar  process  to  budding, 
with  this  advantage,  that  it  can  be  per- 
formed on  large  trees,  whereas  budding  can 
be  applied  only  on  small  ones.  The  two  com- 
mon kinds  of  ingrafting  are  whip-grafting  and 
split-grafting.  The  first  kind  is  for  young 
trees,  and  the  other  for  large  ones. 

The  time  for  ingrafting  is  from  May  to 
October.  The  cuttings  must  be  taken  from 
horizontal*  shoots,  between  Christmas  and 
March,  and  kept  in  a  damp  cellar.  In  per- 
forming the  operation,  cut  off  in  a  sloping 
direction  (as  seen  in  Fig.  65)  the  tree  or 
limb  to  be  grafted. .  Then  cut  off  in  a  cor- 
responding slant  the  slip  to  be  grafted  on. 
Then  put  them  together,  so  that  the  inner 
bark  of  each  shall  match  exactly  on  one 
side,  and  tie  them  firmly  together  with  yel- 
low yarn.  It  is  not  essential  that  both  be 
of  equal  size;  if  the  bark  of  each  meet  together  exactly 


THE    PROPAGATION    OF   PLANTS. 


387 


Fig.  66 


on  one  side,  it  answers  the  purpose.  But  the  two  must 
not  differ  much  in  size.  The  slope  should  be  an  inch  and 
a  half,  or  more,  in  length.  After  they  are  tied  together, 
the  place  should  be  covered  with  a  salve  or  composition  of 
bees-wax  and  rosin.  A  mixture  of  clay  and  cow-dung  will 
answer  the  same  purpose.  This  last  must  be  tied  on  with 
a  cloth.  Grafting  is  more  convenient  than  budding,  as 
grafts  can  be  sent  from  a  great  distance ;  whereas  buds 
must  be  taken  in  July  or  August,  from  a  shoot  of  the 
present  year's  growth,  and  can  not  be  sent  to  any  great  dis- 
tance. 

This  engraving  (Fig.  66)  exhibits  the 
mode  called  stock-grafting ;  a  being  the 
limb  of  a  large  tree,  which  is  sawed  off 
and  split,  and  is  to  be  held  open  by  a 
small  wedge  till  the  grafts  are  put  in. 
A  graft  inserted  in  the  limb  is  shown 
at  &,  and  at  c  is  one  not  inserted,  but  de- 
signed to  be  put  in  at  d,  as  two  grafts 
can  be  put  into  a  large  stock.  In  in- 
serting the  graft,  be  careful  to  make  the 
edge  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  graft  meet 
exactly  the  edge  of  the  inner  bark  of  the 
stock  ;  for  on  this  success  depends.  Af- 
ter the  grafts  are  put  in,  the  wedge  must 
be  withdrawn,  and  the  whole  of  the  stock  be  covered  with 
the  thick  salve  or  composition  before  mentioned,  reaching 
from  where  the  grafts  are  inserted  to  the  bottom  of  the 
slit.  Be  careful  not  to  knock  or  move  the  grafts  after  they 
are  put  in. 

Pruning  is  an  operation  of  constant  exercise,  for  keep- 
ing plants  and  trees  in  good  condition.  The  following 
rules  are  from  a  distinguished,  horticulturist :  Prune  off 
all  dead  wood,  and  all  the  little  twigs  on  the  main  limbs. 
Retrench  branches,  so  as  to  give  light  and  ventilation  to  the 
interior  of  the  tree.  Cut  out  the  straight  and  perpendi- 


388  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

cular  shoots,  which  give  little  or  no  fruit;  while  those 
which  are  most  nearly  horizontal,  and  somewhat  curving, 
give  fruit  abundantly  and  of  good  quality,  and  should 
be  sustained.  Superfluous  and  ill-placed  buds  may  be 
rubbed  off  at  any  time ;  and  no  buds  pushing  out  after 
midsummer  should  be  spared.  In  choosing  between  shoots 
to  be  retained,  preserve  the  lowest  placed,  and  on  lateral 
shoots,  those  which  are  nearest  the  origin.  When  branches 
cross  each  other  so  as  to  rub,  remove  one  or  the  other. 
Remove  all  suckers  from  the  roots  of  trees  or  shrubs. 
Prune  after  the  sap  is  in  full  circulation,  (except  in  the 
case  of  grapes,)  as  the  wounds  then  heal  best.  Some  think 
it  best  to  prune  before  the  sap  begins  to  run.  Pruning- 
shears,  and  a  pruning-pole,  with  a  chisel  at  the  end,  can 
be  procured  of  those  who  deal  in  agricultural  utensils. 

Thinning  is  also  an  important  but  very  delicate  opera- 
tion. As  it  is  the  office  of  the  leaves  to  absorb  nourishment 
from  the  atmosphere,  they  should  never  be  removed,  except 
to  mature  the  wood  or  fruit.  In  doing  this,  remove  such 
leaves  as  shade  the  fruit,  as  soon  as  it  is  ready  to  ripen. 
To  do  it  earlier  impairs  the  growth.  Do  it  gradually  at  two 
different  times.  Thinning  the  fruit  is  important,  as  tend- 
ing to  increase  its  size  and  flavor,  and  also  to  promote 
the  longevity  of  the  tree.  If  the  fruit  be  thickly  set,  take 
off  one  half  at  the  time  of  setting.  Revise  in  June,  and- 
then  in  July,  taking  off  all  that  may  be  spared.  One  very 
large  apple  to  every  square  foot  is  a  rule  that  may  be  a 
sort  of  guide  in  other  cases.  According  to  this,  two  hun- 
dred large  apples  would  be  allowed  to  a  tree  whose  extent 
is  fifteen  feet  by  twelve.  If  any  person  think  this  thinning 
excessive,  let  him  try  two  similar  trees,  and  thin  one  as  di- 
rected and  leave  the  other  unthinned.  It  will  be  found 
that  the  thinned  tree  will  produce  an  equal  weight,  and 
fruit  of  much  finer  flavor. 


xxxni. 

THE   CULTIVATION   OF   FKUTT. 

BY  a  little  attention  to  this  matter,  a  lady  with  the  help 
of  her  children  can  obtain  a  rich  abundance  of  all  kinds 
of  fruit.  The  writer  has  resided  in  famines  where  little 
boys  of  eight,  ten,  and  twelve  years  old  amused  themselves, 
under  the  direction  of  their  mother,  in  planting  walnuts, 
chestnuts,  and  hazelnuts,  for  future  time ;  as  well  as  in 
planting  and  inoculating  young  fruit-trees  of  all  descrip- 
tions. A  mother  who  will  take  pains  to  inspire  a  love  for 
such  pursuits  in  her  children,  and  who  will  aid  and  super- 
intend them,  will  save  them  from  many  temptations,  and 
at  a  trifling  expense  secure  to  them  and  herself  a  rich  re- 
ward in  the  choicest  fruits.  The  information  given  in  this 
work  on  this  subject  may  be  relied  on  as  sanctioned  by 
the  most  experienced  nursery-men. 

The  soil  for  a  nursery  should  be  rich,  well  dug,  dressed 
with  well-decayed  manure,  free  from  weeds,  and  protected 
from  cold  winds.  Fruit-seeds  should  be  planted  in  the  au- 
tumn, an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  deep,  in  ridges  four 
or  five  feet  apart,  pressing  the  earth  firmly  over  the  seeds. 
While  growing,  they  should  be  thinned  out,  leaving  the 
best  ones  a  foot  and  a  half  apart.  The  soil  should  be  kept 
loose,  soft,  and  free  from  weeds.  They  should  be  inoculat- 
ed or  ingrafted  when  of  the  size  of  a  pipe  stem  ;  and  in  a 
year  after  this  may  be  transplanted  to  their  permanent 
stand.  Peach-trees  sometimes  bear  in  two  years  from  bud- 
ding, and  in  four  years  from  planting  if  well  kept. 

In  a  year  after  transplanting,  take  pains  to  train  the  head 
aright.  Straight  upright  branches  produce  gourmands,  or 


390 

twigs  bearing  only  leaves.  The  side  branches  which  are 
angular  or  curved  yield  the  most  fruit.  For  this  reason, 
the  limbs  should  be  trained  in  curves,  and  perpendicular 
twigs  should  be  cut  off  if  there  be  need  of  pruning.  The 
last  of  June  is  the  time  for  this  Grass  should  never  be  al- 
lowed to  grow  within  four  feet  of  a  large  tree,  and  the 
soil  should  be  kept  loose  to  admit  air  to  the  roots.  Trees 
in  orchards  should  be  twenty-five  feet  apart.  The  soil 
under  the  top  soil  has  much  to  do  with  the  health  of 
the  trees.  If  it  be  what  is  called  hard-pan,  the  trees  will 
deteriorate.  Trees  need  to  be  manured  and  to  have  the 
soil  kept  open  and  free  from  weeds. 

Filberts  can  be  raised  in  any  part  of  this  country. 

Figs  can  be  raised  in  the  Middle,  Western,  and  Southern 
States.  For  this  purpose,  in  the  autumn  loosen  the  roots  on 
one  side,  and  bend  the  tree  down  to  the  earth  on  the  other ;. 
then  cover  it  with  a  mound  of  straw,  earth,  and  boards, 
and  early  in  the  spring  raise  it  up  and  cover  the  roots. 

Currants  grow  well  in  any  but  a  wet  soil.  They  are 
propagated  by  cuttings.  The  old  wood  should  be  thinned 
in  the  fall  and  manure  be  put  on.  They  can  be  trained 
into  small  trees. 

Gooseberries  are  propagated  by  layers  and  cuttings. 
They  are  best  when  kept  from  suckers  and  trained  like 
trees.  One  third  of  the  old  wood  should  be  removed 
every  autumn. 

Raspberries  do  best  when  shaded  during  a  part  of  the 
day.  They  are  propagated  by  layers,  slips,  and  suckers. 
There  is  one  kind  which  bears  monthly ;  but  the  varieties 
of  this  and  all  other  fruits  are  now  so  numerous  that  we 
can  easily  find  those  which  are  adapted  to  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case. 

Strawberries  require  a  light  soil  and  vegetable  manure. 
They  should  be  transplanted  in  April  or  September,  and 
be  set  eight  inches  apart,  in  rows  nine  inches  asunder,  and 
in  beds  which  are  two  feet  wide,  with  narrow  alleys  be- 


THE   CULTIVATION    OF   FRUIT.  391 

tween  them.  A  part  of  these  plants  are  non-bearers.  These 
have  large  flowers  with  showy  stamens  and  high  black 
anthers.  The  bearers  have  short  stamens,  a  great  number 
of  pistils,  and  the  flowers  are  every  way  less  showy.  In 
blossom-time,  pull  out  all  the  non-bearers.  Some  think  it 
best  to  leave  one  non-bearer  to  every  twelve  bearers,  and 
others  pull  them  all  out.  Many  beds  never  produce  any 
fruit,  because  all  the  plants  in  them  are  non-bearers. 
Weeds  should  be  kept  from  the  vines.  When  the  vines 
are  matted  with  young  plants,  the  best  way  is  to  dig  over 
the  beds  in  cross  lines,  so  as  to  leave  some  of  the  plants 
standing  in  little  squares,  while  the  rest  are  turned  under 
the  soil.  This  should  be  done  over  a  second  time  in  the 
same  year.  . 

To  Raise  Grapes,  manure  the  soil,  and  keep  it  soft  and 
free  from  weeds.  A  gravelly  or  sandy  soil,  and  a  south  ex- 
posure are  best.  Transplant  the  vines  in  the  early  spring, 
or  better  in  the  fall.  Prune  them  the  first  year  so  as  to 
have  only  two  main  branches,  taking  off  all  other  shoots  as 
fast  as  they  come.  In  November,  cut  off  all  of  these  two 
branches  except  four  eyes.  The  second  year,  in  the  spring, 
loosen  the  earth  around  the  roots,  and  allow  only  two 
branches  to  grow,  and  every  month  take  off  all  side  shoots. 
When  they  are  very  strong,  preserve  only  a  part,  and  cut 
off  the  rest  in  the  fall.  In  November,  cut  off  all  the  two 
main  stems  except  eight  eyes.  After  the  second  year,  no 
more  pruning  is  needed,  except  to  reduce  the  side  shoots, 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  fruit.  Al\  the  pruning  of 
grapes  (except  nipping  side  shoots)  must  be  done  when 
the  sap  is  not  running,  or  they  will  bleed  to  death.  Train 
them  on  poles,  or  lattices,  to  expose  them  to  the  air  and 
sun.  Cover  tender  vines  in  the  autumn.  Grapes  are 
propagated  by  cuttings,  layers,  and  seeds.  For  cuttings, 
select  in  the  autumn  well-ripened  wood  of  the  former  year, 
and  take  five  joints  for  each.  Bury  them  till  April ;  then' 
soak  them  for  some  hours,  and  set  them  out  aslant,  so  that 
all  the  eyes  but  one  shall  be  covered. 


392  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Apples,  grapes,  and  such  like  fruit  can  be  preserved  in 
their  natural  state  by  packing  them  when  dry  and  solid  in 
dry  sand  or  saw-dust,  putting  alternate  layers  of  fruit  and 
cotton,  saw-dust  or  sand.  Some  saw-dust  gives  a  bad  flavor 
to  the  fruit. 

Modes  of  Preserving  Fruit- Trees. — Heaps  of  ashes  or  tan- 
ner's bark  around  peach-trees  prevent  the  attack  of  the 
worm.  The  yellows  is  a  disease  of  peach-trees,  which  is 
spread  by  the  pollen  of  the  blossom.  When  a  tree  begins 
to  turn  yellow,  take  it  away  with  all  its  roots,  before  it 
blossoms  again,  or  it  will  infect  other  trees.  Planting  tan- 
sy around  the  roots  of  fruit-trees  is  a  sure  protection 
against  worms,  as  it  prevents  the  moth  from  depositing 
her  egg.  Equal  quantities  of  salt  and  saltpetre,  put 
around  the  trunk  of  a  peach-tree,  half  a  pound  to  a  tree, 
improve  the  size  and  flavor  of  the  fruit.  Apply  this  about 
the  first  of  April ;  and  if  any  trees  have  worms  already  in 
them,  put  on  half  the  quantity  in  addition  in  June.  To 
young  trees  just  set  out,  apply  one  ounce  in  April,  and 
another  in  June,  close  to  the  stem.  Sandy  soil  is  best  for 
peaches. 

Apple-trees  are  preserved  from  insects  by  a  wash  of 
strong  lye  to  the  body  and  limbs,  which,  if  old,  should  be 
first  scraped.  Caterpillars  should  be  removed  by  cutting 
down  their  nests  in  a  damp  day.  Boring  a  hole  in  a  tree 
infested  with  worms,  and  filling  it  with  sulphur,  will  often 
drive,  them  off  immediately. 

^  The  fire-~blight  or  brulure  in  pear-trees  can  be  stopped  by 
cutting  off  all  the  blighted  branches.  It  is  supposed  by 
some  to  be  owing  to  an  excess  of  sap,  which  is  remedied  by 
diminishing  the  roots. 

The  curculioj  which  destroys  plums  and  other  stone- 
fruit,  can  be  checked  only  by  gathering  up  all  the  fruit 
that  falls,  (which  contains  their  eggs,)  and  destroying  it. 
The  canker-worm  can  be  checked  by  applying  a  bandage 
around  the  body  of  the  tree,  and  every  evening  smearing 
it  with  fresh  tar. 


XXXIY. 

THE   CAKE   OF   DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  illustrations  of  the  design 
of  our  benevolent  Creator  in  establishing  the  family 
state  is  the  nature  of  the  domestic  animals  connected  with 
it.  At  the  very  dawn  of  life,  the  infant  watches  with  de- 
light the  graceful  gambols  of  the  kitten,  and  soon  makes  it 
a  playmate.  Meantime,  its  out-cries  when  hurt  appeal 
to  kindly  sympathy,  and  its  sharp  claws  to  fear;  while 
the  child's  mother  has  a  constant  opportunity  to  incul- 
cate kindness  and  care  for  weak  and  ignorant  creatures. 
Then  the  dog  becomes  the  out-door  playmate  and  guardian 
of  early  childhood,  and  he  also  guards  himself  by  cries  of 
pain,  and  protects  himself  by  his  teeth.  At  the  same  time, 
his  faithful  loving  nature  and  caresses  awaken  correspond- 
ing tenderness  and  care ;  while  the  parent  again  has  a 
daily  opportunity  to  inculcate  these  virtues  toward  the 
helpless  and  dependent.  As  the  child  increases  in  know- 
ledge and  reason,  the  horse,  cows,  poultry,  and  other  do- 
mestic animals  come  under  his  notice.  These  do  not  ordi- 
narily express  their  hunger  or  other  sufferings  by  cries  of 
distress,  but  depend  more  on  the  developed  reason  and 
humanity  of  man.  And  here  the  parent  is  called  upon  to 
instruct  a  child  in  the  nature  and  wants  of  each,  that  he 
may  intelligently  provide  for  their  sustenance  and  for  their 
protection  from  injury  and  disease. 

To  assist  in  this  important  duty  of  home  life,  which  so 
often  falls  to  the  supervision  of  woman,  the  following 
information  is  prepared  through  the  kindness  of  one  of 


394  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

the  editors  of  a  prominent,  widely  known   agricultural 
paper. 

Domestic  animals  are  very  apt  to  catch  the  spirit  and 
temper  of  their  masters.  A  surly  man  will  be  very  likely 
to  have  a  cross  dog  and  a  biting  horse.  A  passionate  man 
will  keep  all  his  animals  ir.  -n'/ral  fear  of  him,  making 
them  snappish,  and  liable  to  hurt  those  of  whom  they  are 
not  afraid. 

It  is,  therefore,  most  important  that  all  animals  should 
be  treated  uniformly  with  kindness.  They  are  all  capable 
of  returning  affection,  and  will  show  it  very  pleasantly  if 
we  manifest  affection  for  them.  They  also  have  intuitive 
perceptions  of  our  emotions  which  we  can  not  conceal.  A 
sharp,  ugly  dog  will  rarely  bite  a  person  who  has  no  fear  oi 
him.  A  horse  knows  the  moment  a  man  mounts  or  takes 
the  reins  whether  he  is  afraid  or  not ;  and  so  it  is  with 
other  animals. 

If  live  stock  can  not  be  well  fed,  they  ought  not  to  be 
kept.  One  well  wintered  horse  is  worth  as  much  as  two 
that  drag  through  on  straw,  and  by  browsing  the  hedge- 
rows. The  same  is  true  of  oxen,  and  emphatically  so  of 
cows.  The  owner  of  a  half-starved  dog  loses  the  use  of 
him  almost  altogether ;  for,  at  the  very  time — the  night — 
when  he  is  most  needed  as  a  guard,  he  must  be  off  scou- 
ring the  country  for  food. 

Shelter  in  winter  is  most  important  for  cows.  They 
should  have  good  tight  stables  or  byres,  well  ventilated, 
and  so  warm  that  water  in  a  pail  will  only  freeze  a  little 
on  the  top  the  severest  nights.  Oxen  should  have  the 
same  stabling,  though  they  bear  cold  better.  Horses  in 
stables  will  bear  almost  any  degree  of  cold,  if  they  have 
all  they  can  eat/  Sheep,  except  young  lambs,  are  well 
enough  sheltered  in  dry  sheds,  with  one  end  open.  Cattle, 
sheep,  and  dogs  do  not  sweat  as  horses  do,  they  "  loll ;" 
that  is,  water  or  slabber  runs  from  their  tongues ;  hence, 
they  are  not  liable  to  take  cold  as  the  horse  is.  Hogs  bea* 


THE    CARE    OF   DOMESTIC    ANIMALS.  395 

cold  pretty  well ;  but  they  eat  enough  to  convince  any  one 
that  true  economy  lies  in  giving  them  warm  sties  in  win- 
ter, for  the  colder  they  are  the  more  they  eat.  Fowls  will 
not  lay  in  cold  weather  unless  they  have  light  and  warm 
quarters. 

Cleanliness  is  indispensable,  if  one  would  keep  his  ani- 
mals healthy.  In  their  wild  state  all  our  domestic  animals 
are  very  clean,  and,  at  the  same  time,  very  healthy.  The 
hog  is  not  naturally  a  dirty  animal,  but  quite  the  reverse. 
He  enjoys  currying  as  much  as  a  horse  or  a  cow,  and 
would  be  as  careful  of  his  litter  as  a  cat  if  he  had  a  fair 
chance. 

Horses  ought  to  be  groomed  daily  ;  cows  and  oxen  as  of- 
ten as  twice  a  week ;  dogs  should  be  washed  with  soapsuds 
frequently.  Stables  should  be  cleaned  out  daily.  Absorb- 
ents of  liquid  in  stables  should  be  removed  as  often  as  they 
become  wet.  Dry  earth  is  one  of  the  best  absorbents,  and 
is  especially  useful  in  the  fowl-house.  Hogs  in  pens  should 
have  straw  for  their  rests  or  lairs,  and  it  should  be  often 
renewed. 

Parasitic  Vermin. — These  are  lice,  fleas,  ticks,  the  scale 
insects,  and  other  pests  which  afflict  our  live  stock.  There 
are  many  ways  of  destroying  them ;  the  best  and  safest  is  a 
free  use  of  carbolic  acid  soap.  The  larger  animals,  as  well  as 
hogs,  dogs,  and  sheep  may  be  washed  in  strong  suds  of  this 
soap,  without  fear,  and  the  application  repeated  after  a  week. 
This  generally  destroys  both  the  creatures  and  their  eggs. 
Hen  lice  are  best  destroyed  by  greasing  the  fowls,  and  dust- 
ing them  with  flowers  of  sulphur.  Sitting  hens  must 
never  be  greased,  but  the  sulphur  may  be  dusted  freely  in 
their  nests,  and  it  is  well  to  put  it  in  all  hens'  nests. 

Salt  and  Water. — All  animals  except  poultry  require 
salt,  and  all,  free  supplies  of  fresh  water. 

Light. — Stables,  or  places  where  any  kind  of  animals  are 
confined,  should  have  plenty  of  light.  Windows  are  not 
more  important  in  a  house  than  in  a  barn.  The  sun 


396  THE   AMERICAN    WOMAN'S   HOME. 

should  come  in  freely ;  and  if  it  shines  directly  upon  the 
stock,  all  the  better.  When  beeves  and  sheep  are  fat- 
tening very  rapidly,  the  exclusion  of  the  light  makes  them 
more  quiet,  and  fatten  faster ;  but  their  state  is  an  un- 
natural and  hardly  a  healthy  one. 

Exercise  in  the  open  air  is  important  for  breeding  ani- 
mals. It  is  especially  necessary  for  horses  of  all  kinds. 
Cows  need  very  little  and  swine  none,  unless  kept  for 
breeding. 

Breeding. — Always  use  thorough-bred  males,  and  im- 
provement is  certain. 

Horses. — The  care  which  horses  require  varies  with  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  owner  is  placed,  and  the  usos 
to  which  they  are  put.  In  general,  if  kept  stabled,  they 
should  be  fed  with  good  upland  hay,  almost  as  much  as 
they  will  eat ;  and  if  absent  from  the  stable,  and  at  work 
most  of  the  day,  they  should  have  all  they  will  eat  of  hay, 
together  with  four  to  eight  quarts  of  oats  or  an  equal 
weight  of  other  grain  or  meal.  Earley  is  good  for  horses, 
and  so  is  dry  corn.  Corn-meal  put  upon  cut  hay,  wet  and 
well-mixed,  is  good,  steady  feed,  if  not  in  too  large  quanti- 
ties. Four  quarts  a  day  may  be  fed  unmixed  with  other 
grain ;  but  if  the  horse  be  hard  worked  and  needs  more, 
mix  the  meal  with  wheat  bran,  or  linseed  oil- cake  meal, 
or  use  corn  and  oats  ground  together  ;  carrots  are  especially 
wholesome.  A  quart  of  linseed  oil-cake  meal,  daily,  is  an 
excellent  occasional  addition  to  a  horse's  feed,  when  car- 
rots can  not  be  had.  It  gives  a  lustre  to  his  coat,  and 
brings  the  new  coat  of  hair  out  in  the  spring.  A  stabled 
horse  needs  daily  exercise,  as  much  as  to  trot  three  miles. 
Where  a  horse  is  traveling,  jt  is  well  to  give  him  six  quarts 
of  oats  in  the  morning,  four  at  nooii,  and  six  at  night. 

Thorough  grooming  is  indispensable  to  the  health  of 
horses.  Especial  care  should  be  taken  of  the  legs  and  fet- 
locks, that  no  dirt  remain  to  cause  that  distressing  disease, 
grease  or  scratches,  which  results  from  filthy  fetlocks  and 


THE    CARE    OF   DOMESTIC    ANIMALS.  39; 

standing  in  dirty  stables.  When  a  horse  comes  in  from 
work  on  muddy  roads  with  dirty  legs,  they  should  be  im- 
mediately cleaned,  the  dirt  brushed  off,  then  rubbed  with 
straw ;  then,  if  very  dirty,  washed  clean  and  rubbed  dry 
with  a  piece  of  sacking.  A  horse  should  never  stand  in  a 
draught  of  cold  air,  if  he  can  not  turn  and  put  his  back  to  it. 
If  sweaty  or  warm  from  work,  he  should  be  blanketed,  if 
he  is  to  stand  a  minute  in  the  winter  air.  If  put  at  once 
into  the  stable,  he  should  be  stripped  and  rubbed  down 
with  straw  actively  for  five  minutes  or  more,  and  then 
blanketed.  The  blanket  must  be  removed  in  an  hour,  and 
the  horse  given  water  and  feed,  if  it  is  the  usual  time.  It 
will  not  hurt  him  to  eat  hay  when  hot,  unless  he  be  tho- 
roughly exhausted,  when  all  food  should  be  withheld  for  a 
while. 

It  is  very  comforting  to  a  tired  horse,  when  he  is  too 
hot  to  drink,  to  sponge  out  his  mouth  with  cool  water.  A 
horse  should  never  drink  when  very  hot,  nor  be  turned 
into  a  yard  to  "  cool  off,"  even  in  summer,  neither  should 
he  be  turned  out  to  pasture  before  he  is  quite  cool. 

Cows. — Gentle  but  firm  treatment  will  make  a  cow  easy 
to  milk  and  to  handle  in  every  way.  If  stabled  or  yarded, 
cows  should  have  access  to  water  at  all  times,  or  have  it 
frequently  offered  to  them.  Clover  hay  is  probably  the 
best  steady  food  for  milch  cows.  Cornstalks  cut  up,  tho- 
roughly soaked  with  water  for  half  a  day,  and  then  sprin- 
kled with  corn  or  oil-cake  meal  is  perhaps  unsurpassed 
as  good  winter  food  for  milch  cows.  The  amount  of  meal 
may  vary.  With  plenty  of  oil-meal,  there  is  little  danger 
of  feeding  too  much,  as  that  is  loosening  to  the  bowels  and 
a  safe  nutritious  article.  Corn-meal  alone,  in  large  quan- 
tities, is  too  heating.  tEoots  should,  if  possible,  form  part 
of  the  diet  of  a  milch  cow,  especially  before  and  soon  after 
calving  ;  feed  well  before  this  period,  yet  not  to  make  the 
cow  very  fat ;  but  it  is  better  to  err  in  that  way  than  to 
have  her  "  come  in  "  thin.  Take  the  calf  away  from  the 


398  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN"1  S  HOME. 

mother  as  soon  as  it  stands  up,  and  the  separation 
worry  neither  dam  nor  young.  This  is  always  best,  unless 
the  calf  is  to  be  kept  with  the  cow.  The  calf  will  soon 
learn  to  drink  its  food,  if  two  fingers  be  held  in  its  mouth. 
Let  it  have  all  the  first  drawn  milk  for  three  days  as  soon 
as  milked ;  after  this,  skimmed  milk  warmed  to  blood 
heat.  Soon  a  little  fine  scalded  meal  may  be  mixed  with 
the  milk ;  and  it  will,  at  three  to  five  weeks  old,  nibble 
hay  and  grass.  It  is  well  also  to  keep  a  box  containing 
some  dry  wheat- bran  and  fine  corn-meal  mixed  in  the  calf- 
pen,  so  that  calves  may  take  as  much  as  they  like. 

In  milking,  put  the  fingers  around  the  teat  close  to  the 
bag ;  then  firmly  close  the  forefingers  of  each  hand  alter- 
nately, immediately  squeezing  with  the  other  fingers. 
The  forefingers  prevent  the  milk  flowing  back  into  the 
bag,  while  the  others  press  it  out.  Sit  with  the  left  knee 
close  to  the  right  hind  leg  of  the  cow,  the  head  pressed 
against  her  flank,  the  left  hand  always  ready  to  ward  off  a 
blow  from  her  feet,  which  the  gentlest  cow  may  give  al- 
most without  knowing  it,  if  her  tender  teats  be  cut  by  long 
nails,  or  if  a  wart  be  hurt,  or  her  bag  be  tender.  She 
must  be  stripped  dry  every  time  she  is  milked,  or  she  will 
dry  up ;  and  if  she  gives  much  milk,  it  pays  to  milk  three 
tunes  a  day,  as  nearly  eight  hours  apart  as  possible.  Never 
stop  while  milking  till  done,  as  this  will  cause  the  cow  to 
stop  giving  milk. 

To  tether  a  cow,  tie  her  by  one  hind  leg,  making  the  rope 
fast  above  the  fetlock  joint,  and  protecting  the  limb  with 
a  piece  of  an  old  bootleg  or  similar  thing.  The  knot  must 
be  one  that  will  not  slip ;  regular  fetters  of  iron  bound 
with  leather  are  much  better. 

A  cow  should  go  unmilked  two  months  before  calving, 
and  her  milk  should  not  be  used  by  the  family  till  four 
days  after  that  time. 

Swine. — The  filthy  state  of  hog-pens  is  allowed  on  account 
of  ,the  amount  of  manure  they  will  make  by  working  over 


THE    CARE   OF  DOMESTIC   ANIMALS.  399 

all  sorts  of  vegetable  matter,  spoiled  hay,  weeds,  etc.,  etc. 
This  is  unhealthy  for  the  family  near  and  also  for  the  ani- 
mal. The  hog  is,  naturally,  a  cleanly  animal,  and  if  given 
a  chance  he  will  keep  himself  very  neat  and  clean. 
Breeding  sows  should  have  the  range  of  a  small  pasture, 
and  be  regularly  fed.  They  need  fresh  water  constantly, 
and  often  suffer  for  lack  of  it  when  they  have  liquid  swill, 
which  they  do  not  like  to  drink.  All  hogs  should  have  a 
warm,  dry,  well-littered  pen  to  lie  in,  away  from  flies  and 
disturbance  of  any  kind.  They  are  fond  of  charcoal,  and 
it  is  worth  while  frequently  to  throw  a  few  handf uls  where 
they  can  get  at  it.  It  has  a  very  beneficial  effect  on  the 
appetite,  regulates  the  tone  of  the  stonfach  and  digestive 
organs,  and  can  not  do  any  harm.  Pigs  ought  always  to  be 
well  fed  and  kept  growing  fast;  and  when  being  fattened, 
they  should  be  penned  always,  the  herd  being  sorted  so 
that  all  may  have  an  equal  chance.  It  is  well  to  feed 
soft  corn  in  the  ear;  but  hard  corn  should  always  be 
ground  and  cooked  for  pigs. 

Sheep. — In  the  winter,  sheep  need  deep,  well-littered, 
dry  sheds,  dry  yards,  and  hay,  wheat,  or  oat  straw,  as  much 
as  they  will  eat.  They  should  be  kept  gaining  by  grain  reg- 
ularly fed  to  them,  and  so  distributed  that  each  gets  its 
share.  Corn,  either  whole  or  ground,  or  oil-cake  meal,  or 
both,  are  used  for  fattening  sheep.  They  will  easily  surfeit 
themselves  on  any  grain  except  oil-meal,  which  is  very  safe 
feed  for  them,  and  usually  economical.  Strong  sheep  will 
often  drive  the  weaker  ones  away,  and  so  get  more  than 
their  share  of  food  and  make  themselves  sick.  This  must 
be  guarded  against,  and  the  flock  sorted,  keeping  the  weak- 
er and  stronger  apart. 

Sheep  are  very  useful  in  clearing  land  of  brush  and  cer- 
tain weeds,  which  they  gnaw  down  and  kill.  To  accom- 
plish this,  the  land  must  be  overstocked,  and  it  is  best  not  to 
keep  sheep  on  short  pasturage  more  than  a  few  weeks  at  a 
time  ;  but  if  they  are  returned  after  a  few  days,  it  will  serve 


400  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

as  good  a  purpose  as  if  they  were  to  be  kept  on  all  the  time. 
Sheep  at  pasture  must  be  restrained  by  good  fences,  or  they 
will  be  a  great  nuisance.  Dog-proof  hedge  fences  of  Osage 
orange  are  to  be  highly  recommended,  wherever  this  plant 
will  grow.  Mutton  sheep 'will  generally  pay  better  to 
raise  than  merinos,  but  they  need  more  care. 

Poultry. — Few  objects  of  labor  are  more  remunerative 
than  poultry,  raised  on  a  moderate  scale.  Turkeys,  when 
young,  need  great  care ;  some  animal  food,  dry,  warm  quar- 
ters, and  must  be  kept  out  of  the  wet  grass,  and  kept  in 
when  it  rains.  As  soon  as  fledged,  they  become  very 
hardy,  and,  with  free  range,  will  almost  take  care  of 
themselves.  Geese  need  water  and  good  grass  pasture. 
Ducks  do  very  well  without  water  to  swim  in,  if  they  have 
all  they  need  to  drink.  They  will  lay  a  great  many  eggs 
if  kept  shut  in  a  pen  until  say  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
If  let  out  earlier,  they  wander  away,  and  will  hide  their 
nests,  and  lay  only  about  as  many  eggs  as  they  can  cover. 
It  is  best  to  set  duck's  eggs  under  hens,  and  to  keep  young 
ducks  shut  up  in  a  dry  roomy  pen  for  four  weeks,  at  least. 
Fowls  need  light,  warm,  dry  quarters  in  winter,  plenty  of 
feed,  but  not  too  much.  They  relish  animal  food,  and 
ought  to  have  some  frequently  to  make  them  lay.  Pork 
or  beef  scrap-cake  can  be  bought  for  two  to  three  cents  a 
pound,  and  is  very  good  for  them.  Any  kind  of  grain  is 
good  for  poultry.  Nothing  is  better  than  wheat  screenings. 
Early  hatched  chickens  must  be  kept  in  a  warm,  dry,  sunny 
room,  with  plenty  of  gravel,  and  the  hen  should  have  no 
more  than  eight  or  nine  chickens  to  brood ;  though  in  sum- 
mer, one  hen  will  take  good  care  of  fifteen.  Little  chickens, 
turkeys,  and  ducks  need  frequent  feeding,  and  must  have 
their  water  changed  often.  It  is  well  to  grease  the  body 
of  the  hen  and  the  heads  of  the  chicks  with  lard,  in  order 
to  prevent  their  becoming  lousy. 

Hens  set  about  twenty  days,  and  should  be  well  fed  and 
watered.  Cold  or  damp  weather  is  bad  for  young  fowls, 


THE    CARE    OF  DOMESTIC    ANIMALS.  401 

and  when  they  have  been  chilled,  pepper-corns  are  a  good 
remedy,  in  addition  to  the  warmth  of  an  inclosed  dry 
place. 

The  most  absorbing  part  of  the  "  Woman's  question  "  of 
the  present  time  is  the  remedy  for  the  varied  sufferings  of 
women  who  are  widows  or  unmarried,  and  without  means 
of  support.  As  yet,  few  are  aware  how  many  sources  of 
lucrative  enterprise  and  industry  lie  open  to  woman  in  the 
employments  directly  connected  with  the  family  state.  A 
woman  can  invest  capital  in  the  dairy  and  qualify  'herself 
to  superintend  a  dairy  farm  as  well  as  a  man.  And  if  she 
has  no  capital  of  her  own,  if  well  trained  for  this  business, 
she  can  find  those  who  have  capital  ready  to  furnish— an 
investment  that  well  managed  will  become  profitable.  And, 
too,  the  raising  of  poultry,  of  hogs,  and  of  sheep  are  all  within 
the  reach  of  a  woman  with  proper  abilities  and  training 
for  this  business.  So  that  if  a  woman  chooses,  she  can  find 
employment  both  interesting  and  profitable  in  studying  the 
care  of  domestic  animals. 

Bees. — But  one  of  the  most  profitable  as  well  as  interest- 
Ing  kinds  of  business  for  a  woman  is  the  care  of  bees.  In 
a  recent  agricultural  report,  it  is  stated  that  one  lady  bought 
four  hives  for  ten  dollars,  and  in  five  years  she  was  offered 
one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  her  stock,  and  re- 
fused it  as  not  enough.  In  addition  to  this  increase  of  her 
capital,  in  one  of  these  five  years  she  sold  twenty-two 
hives  and  four  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  honey.  It 
is  also  stated  that  in  five  years  one  man,  from  six  colonies 
of  bees  to  start  with,  cleared  eight  thousand  pounds  of 
honey  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  colonies  of  bees. 

The  raising  of  bees  and  their  management  is  so  cu- 
rious and  as  yet  unknown  an  art  in  most  parts  of  our 
country,  that  any  directions  or  advice  will  be  omitted  in 
this  volume,  as  requiring  too  much  space,  and  largely  set 
forth  and  illustrated  in  the  second  part.  When  properly 


402  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

instructed,  almost  any  woman  in  the  city,  as  easily  as  in 
the  country,  can  manage  bees,  and  make  more  profit  than 
in  any  other  method  demanding  so  little  time  and  labor. 
But  in  the  modes  ordinarily  practiced,  few  can  make  any 
great  prplit  in  this  employment. 

It  is  hoped  a  time  is  at  hand  when  every  woman  will  be 
trained  to  some  employment  by  which  she  can  secure  to 
herself  an  independent  home  and  means  to  support  a  fami- 
ly, in  case  she  does  not  marry,  or  is  left  a  widow,  with  her- 
self and  a  family  to  support. 


XXXV. 

EABTH-CLOSETS. 

IN  some  particulars,  the  Chinese  are  in  advance  of  our 
own  nation  in  neatness,  economy,  and  healthful  domestic 
arrangements.  In  China,  not  a  particle  of  manure  is 
wasted,  and  all  that  with  us  is  sent  off  in  drains  and  sewers 
from  water-closets  and  privies,  is  collected  in  a  neat  manner 
and  used  for  manure.  This  is  one  reason  that  the  compact 
and  close  packing  of  inhabitants  in  their  cities  is  practica 
ble,  and  it  also  accounts  for  the  enormous  yields  of  some  of 
their  crops. 

The  earth-closet  is  an  invention  which  relieves  the  most 
disagreeable  item  in  domestic  labor,  and  prevents  the  disa- 
greeable and  unhealthful  effluvium  which  is  almost  inevita- 
ble in  all  family  residences.  The  general  principle  of 
construction  is  somewhat  like  that  of  a  water-closet,  except 
that  in  place  of  water  is  used  dried  earth.  The  resulting 
compost  is  without  disagreeable  odor,  and  is  the  richest  spe- 
cies of  manure.  The  expense  of  its  construction  and  use  is 
no  greater  than  that  of  the  common  water-closet ;  indeed, 
when  the  outlays  for  plumber's  work,  the  almost  inevitable 
troubles  and  disorders  of  water-pipes  in  a  house,  and  the 
constant  stream  of  petty  repairs  consequent  upon  careless 
construction  or  use  of  water- works  are  considered,  the  earth- 
closet  is  in  itself  much  cheaper,  besides  being  an  accumu- 
lator of  valuable  matter. 

To  give  a  clear  idea  of  its  principles,  mode  of  fabrication, 
and  use,  we  can  not  do  better  than  to  take  advantage  of 
the  permission  given  by  Mr.  George  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  of 


404  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Newport,  R.  L,  author  of  an  admirable  pamphlet  on  the 
subject,  published  in  1868  by  "  The  Tribune  Association" 
of  New- York.  Mr.  Waring  was  formerly  Agricultural  En- 
gineer of  the  New- York  Central  Park,  and  has  given  much 
attention  to  sanitary  and  agricultural  engineering,  having 
published  several  valuable  *vorks  bearing  in  the  same  general 
direction.  He  is  now  consulting  director  of  "  The  Earth- 
Closet  Company,"  Hartford,  Ct.,  which  manufactures  the 
apparatus  and  all  things  appertaining  to  it — any  part  which 
might  be  needed  to  complete  a  home-built  structure.  But 
with  generous  and  no  less  judicious  freedom,  they  are  en- 
deavoring to  extend  the  knowledge  of  this  wholesome  and 
economical  process  of  domestic  sanitary  engineering  as 
widely  as  possible,  and  so  allow  us  to  present  the  following 
instructions  for  those  who  may  desire  to  construct  their  own 
apparatus. 

In  the  brief  introduction  to  his  pamphlet,  Mr.  Waring 
says : 

"  It  is  sufficiently  understood,  by  all  who  have  given  the 
least  thought  to  the  subject,  that  the  waste  of  the  most  vital 
elements  of  the  soil's  fertility,  through  our  present  practice 
of  treating  human  excrement  as  a  thing  that  is  to  be  hurried 
into  the  sea,  or  buried  in  underground  vaults,  or  in  some 
other  way  put  out  of  sight  and  out  of  reach,  is  full  of  dan- 
ger to  our  future  prosperity. 

"  Our  bodies  have  come  out  of  our  fertile  fields ;  our 
prosperity  is  based  on  the  production  and  the  exchange  of 
the  earth's  fruits ;  and  all  our  industry  has  its  foundation 
in  arts  and  interests  connected  with,  or  dependent  on,  a  suc- 
cessful agriculture.  • 

"  Liebig  asserts  that  the  greatness  of  the  Roman  empire 
was  sapped  by  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  through  which  the 
entire  sewage  of  Rome  was  washed  intot  the  Tiber.  The 
yearly  decrease  of  productive  power  in  the  older  grain  re- 
gions of  the  West,  and  the  increasing  demand  for  manures 
in  the  Atlantic  States,  sufficiently  prove  that  our  own  coun- 


EARTH-CLOSETS.  405 

try  is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  has  established  its  sway 
over  Europe. 

"  The  large  class  who  will  fail  to  feel  the  force  of  the 
agricultural  reasons  in  favor  of  the  reform  which  this  pam- 
phlet is  written  to  uphold,  will  realize,  more  clearly  than 
farmers  will,  the  importance  of  protecting  dwellings  against 
the  gravest  annoyance,  the  most  fertile  source  of  disease, 
and  the  most  certain  vehicle  of  contagion." 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Waring  thinks  that  the  agricultural 
argument  is  no  mean  or  unimportant  one,  and  says : 

"  The  importance  of  any  plan  by  which  the  excrement  of 
our  bodies  may  be  returned  to  our  fields  is  in  a  measure 
shown  in  the  following  extract  from  an  article  that  I  fur- 
nished for  the  American  Agricultural  Annual  for  1868. 

"  The  average  population  of  New- York  City — including 
its  temporary  visitors — is  probably  not  less  than  1,000,000. 
This  population  consumes  food  equivalent  to  at  least  30,- 
000,000  bushels  of  corn  in  a  year.  Excepting  the  small  pro- 
portion that  is  stored  up  in  the  bodies  of  the  growing 
young,  which  is  fully  ofiset  by  that  contained  in  the  bodies 
of  the  dead,  the  constituents  of  the  food  are  returned  to  the 
air  by  the  lungs  and  skin,  or  are  voided  as  excrement. 
That  which  goes  to  the  air  was  originally  taken  from  the 
air  by  vegetation,  and  will  be  so  taken  again :  here  is  no 
waste.  The  excrement  contains  all  that  was  furnished  by 
the  mineral  elements  of  the  soil  on  which  the  food  was  pro- 
duced. 

"  This  all  passes  into  the  sewers,  and  is  washed  into  tne 
sea.  Its  loss  to  the  present  generation  is  complete. 

.  .  .  "  30,000,000  bushels  of  corn  contain,  among 
other  minerals,  nearly  7000  tons  of  phosphoric  acid,  and 
this  amount  is  annually  lost  in  the  wasted  night-soil  of  New- 
York  City.* 

*  Other  mineral  constituents  of  food — important  ones,  too— are  wasted 
away  in  even  greater  quantities  through  the  same  channels ;  but  this  ele- 
ment is  the  best  for  illustration  because  its  effect  in  manure  is  the  most 


406  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

"  Practically  the  human  excrement  of  the  whole  country- 
is  nearly  all  so  disposed  of  as  to  be  lost  to  the  soil.  The 
present  population  of  the  United  States  is  not  far  from 
35,000,000.  On  the  basis  of  the  above  calculation,  their 
annual  food  contains  200,000  tons  of  phosphoric  acid,  be- 
ing the  amount  contained  in  about  900,000  tons  of  bones, 
which,  at  the  price  of  the  best  flour  of  bone,  (for  manure,) 
would  be  worth  over  $50,000,000.  It  would  be  a  moderate 
estimate  to  say  that  the  other  constituents  of  food  are  of  at 
least  equal  value  with  the  other  constituents  of  the  bone, 
and  to  assume  $50,000,000  as  the  money  value  of  the  wast- 
ed  night-soil  of  the  United  States  every  year. 

"  In  another  view,  the  importance  of  this  waste  can  not 
be  estimated  in  money.  Money  values  apply,  rather,  to  the 
products  of  labor  and  to  the  exchange  of  these  products. 
The  waste  of  fertilizing  matter  reaches  farther  than  the  de- 
struction or  exchange  of  products :  it  lessens  the  ability  to 
produce. 

"  If  mill-streams  were  failing  year  by  year,  and  steam 
were  yearly  losing  force,  and  the  ability  of  men  to  labor 
were  yearly  growing  less,  the  doom  of  our  prosperity  would 
not  be  more  plainly  written,  than  if  this  slow  but  certain 
impoverishment  of  our  soil  were  sure  to  continue. 

.  .  .  .  "  But  the  good  time  is  coming,  when  (as 
now  in  China  and  Japan)  men  must  accept  the  fact  that 
the  soil  is  not  a  warehouse  to  be  plundered — only  a  factory 
to  be  worked.  Then  they  will  save  their  raw  material,  in- 
stead of  wasting  it,  and,  aided  by  nature's  wonderful  laws, 
will  weave  over  and  over  again  the  fabric  by  which  we  live 
and  prosper.  Men"  will  build  up  as  fast  as  men  destroy ; 
old  matters  will  be  reproduced  in  new  forms,  and,  as  the 

striking,  even  so  small  a  dressing  as  twenty  pounds  per  acre,  producing 
a  marked  effect  on  all  cereal  crops.  Ammonia,  too, which  is  so  important 
thai;  it  is  usual  in  England  to  estimate  the  value  of  manure  in  exact  pro. 
portion  to  its  supply  of  this  element,  is  largely  yielded  by  human  excre- 
ment. 


EARTH- CLOSETS.  407 

decaying  forests  feed  the  growing  wood,  so  will  all  consumed 
food  yield  food  again." 

With  the  above  brief  extract,  we  shall  cease  using  marks 
of  quotation,  as  the  following  information  and  statements 
are  appropriated  bodily,  either  directly  or  with  mere  modi- 
fications for  brevity,  from  the  little  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Waring. 

The  earth-closet  is  the  invention  of  the  Rev.  Henry 
Moule,  of  Fordington  Yicarage,  Dorsetshire,  England. 

It  is  based  on  the  power  of  clay,  and  the  decomposed 
organic  matter  found  in  the  soil,  to  absorb  and  retain  all 
offensive  odors  and  all  fertilizing  matters ;  and  it  consists, 
essentially,  of  a  mechanical  contrivance  (attached  to  the 
ordinary  seat)  for  measuring  out  and  discharging  into  the 
vault  or  pan  below  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sifted  dry  earth 
to  entirely  cover  the  solid  ordure  and  to  absorb  the  urine. 

The  discharge  of  earth  is  effected  by  an  ordinary  pull-up 
similar  to  that  used  in  the  water-closet,  or  (in  the  self-act- 
ing apparatus)  by  the  rising  of  the  seat  when  the  weight 
of  the  person  is  removed. 

The  vault  or  pan  under  the  seat  is  so  arranged  that  the 
accumulation  may  be  removed  at  pleasure. 

From  the  moment  when  the  earth  is  discharged,  and 
the  evacuation  is  covered,  all  offensive  exhalation  entirely 
ceases.  Under  certain  circumstances,  there  may  be,  at 
tim.es,  a  slight  odor  as  of  guano  mixed  with  earth ;  but  this 
is  so  trifling  and  so  local,  that  a  commode  arranged  on  this 
plan  may,  without  the  least  annoyance,  be  kept  in  use  in 
any  room. 

This  statement  is  made  as  the  result  of  personal  experi- 
ence. Mr.  Waring  says : 

"  I  have  4n  constant  use  in  a  room  in  my  house  an 
earth-closet  commode ;  and  even  when  the  pan  is  entirely 
full,  with  the  accumulation  of  a  week's  use,  visitors  exam- 
ining it  invariably  say,  with  some  surprise,  'You  don't 
mean  that  this  particular  one  has  been  used  P  ': 


408 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  AN   EARTH-CLOSET. 


The  principle  on  which  the  earth-closet  is  based  is  as  free 
to  all  as  is  the  earth  itself,  and  any  person  may  adopt  his 
own  method  of  applying  it.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  have 
a  supply  of  coarsely  sifted  sun-dried  earth  with  which  to 
cover  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  to  be  used,  and  after  use  to 
cover  the  deposit.  A  small  box  of  earth,  and  a  tin  scoop 
are  sufficient  to  prevent  the  gravest  annoyance  of  the  sick- 
room. But,  of  course,  for  constant  use,  it  is  desirable  to 
have  a  more  convenient  apparatus — something  which  re- 
quires less  care,  and  is  less  troublesome  in  many  ways. 

To  this  end,  the  patent  invention  of  Mr.  Moule  is  appli- 
cable. This  comprises  a  tight  receptacle  under  the  seat,  a 
reservoir  for  storing  dry  earth,  and  an  apparatus  to  measure 
out  the  requisite  quantity,  and  throw  it  upon  the  deposit. 

Fig.  67. 


EARTH- CLOSETS. 


409 


The  arrangement  of  the  mechanism  is  shown  in  Fig.  67. 
A  hopper-shaped  reservoir,  made  of  galvanized  iron,  is 
supported  by  a  framework  at  the  back  of  the  seat,  which 
rests  on  the  framework  a,  a.  Connected  with  the  handle  at 
the  right-hand  side,  there  is  an  iron  lever,  which  operates  a 
movable  box  at  the  bottom  of  the  reservoir,  and  causes  it  to 
discharge  its  contents  directly  under  the  seat.  When  the 
handle  is  dropped,  the  box  returns  to  its  position,  and  is 
immediately  filled  preparatory  to  another  use. 

The  hopper-shaped  reservoir  is  supported  by  two  pivots, 
and  has  a  slight  rocking  or  vibrating  motion  imparted  to  it 
by  each  lifting  of  the  lever.  This  prevents  the  earth  from 
becoming  clogged,  and  insures  its  regular  delivery 


THE    "PULL-UP"    APPABATUS. 


pig.  ea 


410  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

,  The  construction  is  more  clearly  shown  in  Fig.  68. 

In  this  figure,  A  is  the  vibrating  hopper  for  holding  the 
earth.  Its  capacity  may  be  increased  to  any  desired  extent 
by  building  above  it  a  straight-sized  box  of  any  height.  It  is 
not  unusual,  in  fixed  privies,  to  make  this  reservoir  large 
enough  to  hold  a  supply  for  several  months.  As  the  earth 
is  dry,  there  is  no  occasion  for  the  use  of  any  thing  better 
than  common  pine  boards  in  making  this  addition  to  the 
reservoir. 

B  is  one  side  of  the  wooden  frame  by  which  the  hop- 
.per  is  supported,  and  it  may  be  made  of  one  inch  pine  or 
spruce. 

C  is  a  box  of  lacquered  or  galvanized  iron,  without  either 
top  or  bottom.  It  moves  on  two  pivots,  one  of  which  is 
shown  on  its  exposed  side.  In  its  present  positio^  its  upper 
end  opens  into  the  hopper,  anti  its  lower  end  is  closed  by 
the  stationary  board  over  which  it  stands.  When  the  han- 
dle is  pulled  up,  the  lever,  which  is  connected  with  the  box, 
jerks  it  rapidly  up,  so  that  its  back  side  closes  the  opening 
of  the  reservoir,  and  its  bottom  opens  to  the  front.  In  its 
movement  it  discharges  its  contents  of  earth  forward  under 
the  seat.  When  the  handle  is  dropped,  the  box  returns  to 
its  natural  position,  and  is  charged  again. 

D  is  one  of  the  pivots — a  corresponding  one  being  on 
the  other  side — by  which  the  hopper  is  supported,  and  on 
which  it  vibrates. 

&,  a,  a,  a,  a,  a,  are  the  parts  of  the  framework,  the  di- 
mensions of  which  in  feet  and  inches  are  given. 

The  only  essential  part  not  shown  is  an  earthen-ware  pan 
without  a  bottom,  similar  to  the  pan  of  a  water-closet,  only 
not  so  deep  and  with  a  larger  opening,  which  is  attached  to 
the  under  side  of  the  seat,  and  which  in  a  measure  prevents 
the  rising  of  dust,  and  conducts  the  urine  to  the  point  at 
which  the  most  earth  falls.  This  is  the  least  important 
part  of  the  invention,  but  it  has  a  certain  advantage. 

The  self-acting  apparatus  is  more  complicated,  and  per- 


EARTH-CLOSETS. 


411 


sons  wishing  it  would  do  best  to  apply  directly  to  the  Com- 
pany. 

THE  ORDINARY  PRIVY. 

In  the  circular  published  by  the  Earth-Closet  Company, 
the  following  directions  are  given  : 

"  An  ordinary  fixed  closet  requires  the  apparatus  to  be 
placed  at  the  back  of,  and  in  connection  with,  the  usual  seat ; 
the  reservoir  for  containing  the  earth  being  placed  above  it. 
Under  it  there  should  be  a  chamber  or  vault  about  four  feet 
by  three  wide,  and  of  any  convenient  depth,  with  a  paved 
or  asphalted  bottom,  and  the  sides  lined  with  cement. 


COMMODES. 


Fig.  69.— Commode,  3  ft.  3  in.  high.  1  ft.  11  in.  wide,  2  ft.  2  In.  deep. 


412 

Should  there  be  an  existing  cesspool,  it  may  be  altered  to 
the  above  dimensions.  Into  this  the  deposit  and  earth  fall, 
and  may  "remain  there  three,  six,  or  twelve  months,  and 
continue  perfectly  inodorous  and  innoxious,  merely  requir- 
ing to  be  occasionally  leveled  by  a  rake  or  hoe.  If,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  found  impossible  or  inconvenient  to  have 
a  vault  underneath,  a  movable  trough,  of  iron  or  tarred 
wood,  on  wheels,  may  be  substituted.  In  this  case,  it  will  be 
advisable  to  raise  the  seat  somewhat  above  the  floor,  to  al- 
low the  trough  to  be  of  sufficient  size. 

"  By  one  form  of  construction,  (the  '  pull-up,')  the  pull- 
ing up  of  a  handle  releases  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  dry 
earth,  which  is  thrown  into  the  pit  or  vault,  covering  the 
deposit  and  completely  preventing  all  smell.  By  another, 
(the  '  self-acting,')  the  same  effect  is  produced  by  the 
action  of  the  seat.  The  apparatus  may  be  placed  in,  and 
adapted  to,  almost  any  existing  closet  or  privy,  and  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  supply  and  removal  of  earth  may  be  carried 
on  inside  or  outside  as  desired." 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  company's  circular : 
"  In  the  commode,  the  apparatus  and  earth-reservoir  are 
self-contained,  and  a  movable  pail  takes  the  place  of  the 
chamber  or  vault  above  described.  This  must  be  emptied 
as  often  as  necessary,  and  the  contents  may  be  applied  to 
the  garden  or  field,  or  be  allowed  to  accumulate  in  a  heap 
under  cover  until  wanted  for  use.  This  accumulation  is 
inodorous,  and  rapidly  becomes  dry.  The  commode  can 
stand  in  any  convenient  place  in  or  out  of  doors.  For  use 
in  bedrooms,  hospital  wards,  infirmaries,  etc.,  the  commode 
is  invaluable.  It  is  entirely  free  from  those  faint,  depress- 
ing odors  common  to  portable  water-closets  and  night-stools, 
and  through  its  admission  one  of  the  greatest  miseries  of 
human  life,  the  foul  smells  of  the  sick-room,  and  one  of 
the  most  frequent  means  of  communicating  infection,  may 
be  entirely  prevented.  It  is  invariably  found  that,  if  any 
failure  takes  place,  it  arises  from  the  earth  not  being  proper- 


EARTH-CLOSETS.  413 

ly  dry.  Too  much  importance  can  not  be  attached  to  this 
requirement.  The  earth-commode  will  no  more  act  pro- 
perly without  dry  earth,  than  will  a  water-closet  without 
water. 

"  These  commodes  are  made  in  a  variety  of  patterns, 
from  the  cottage  commode  to  the  more  expensive  ones  in 
mahogany  or  oak,  and  vary  in  price  accordingly.  They 
are  made  to  act  either  by  a  handle,  as  in  the  ordinary 
\yater-closet,  or  self-acting  on  rising  from  the  seat.  The 
earth-reservoir  is  calculated  to  hold  enough  for  *  about 
twenty-five  times ;  and  where  earth  is  scarce,  or  the  manure 
required  of  extraordinary  strength,  the  product  may  be 
dried  as  many  as  seven  times,  and  without  losing  any  of  its 
deodorizing  properties. 

"  If  care  be  taken  to  cast  one  service  of  earth  into  the 
pail  when  first  placed  in  the  commode,  and  to  have  the 
commonest  regard  to  cleanliness,  not  the  least  offensive 
smell  will  be  perceptible,  though  the  receptacle  remain  un- 
emptied  for  weeks.  Care  must  also  be  taken  that  no  liquid, 
but  that  which  they  are  intended  to  receive,  be  thrown  into 
the  pails." 

The  pail  used  in  the  commode  is  made  of  galvanized 
iron,  and  is  shaped  very  much  like  an  ordinary  coal-hod. 
It  has  a  cover  of  the  same  material,  and  it  may  be  carried 
from  an  upper  floor  with  no  more  offensiveness  than  a  hod- 
ful  of  common  earth. 

Fig.  70  represents  a  cross-section  of  the  commode,  and 
will  enable  the  reader  more  clearly  to  understand  the  con- 
struction and  operation  of  the  apparatus. 

a  is  the  opening  in  the  seat ;  £>,  the  ;c  pan ;"  c,  the  pail 
for  receiving  the  deposit ;  c?,  the  hopper  for  containing  the 
earth  supply ;  e,  the  box  by  which  the  earth  is  measured, 
and  by  wliich  it  is  thrown  into  the  pail  when  moved  to  the 
position  e'  by  the  operation  of  the  "  pull-up ;"  /,  a  door  by 
which  the  pail  is  shut  in ;  #,  the  cover  of  the  seat ;  A,  the 
cover  of  the  hopper ;  i,  a  platform  which  prevents  the  es- 
cape of  earth  from  e. 


414 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 
Fig.  70. 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  EARTH-CLOSET. 

Under  this  head,  the  circular  issued  by  the  original  Lon- 
don company  contains  the  following  : 

"  The  first  requirement  for  the  proper  working  of  the 
earth-closet  is  earth  perfectly  dry  and  sifted. 

"  Earth  alone  is  proved  to  be  the  best  deodorizer,  and 
far  superior  to  any  disinfectants ;  but  where  it  is  difficult  to 
obtain  earth  abundantly,  sifted  ashes,  as  before  stated,  may 
be  mixed  with  it  in  proportion  of  two  of  earth  to  one  of 
ashes. 

"  As  the  first  requirement  is  dry  earth  sifted,  and  as  this 


EARTH- CLOSETS.  415 

is  usually  thought  to  be  a  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the 
adoption  of  the  dry  earth  system,  the  following  remarks 
will  at  once  remove  such  an  impression. 

"  The  earth-commode  and  closet,  if  used  by  six  persons 
daily,  will  require,  on  an  average,  about  one  hundred  weight 
of  earth  per  week.  This  may  be  dried  for  family  use  in  a 
drawer  made  to  fit  under  the  kitchen  range,  and  which  may 
be  filled  with  earth  one  morning  and  left  until  the  next. 
The  drawer  should  reach  to  within  two  inches  of  the  bottom 
bar  of  the  grate.  A  frame  with  a  handle,  covered  with 
fine  wire-netting,  forming  a  kind  of  shovel,  should  be 
placed  on  this  drawer ;  the  finer  ashes  will  fall  through, 
mixing  with  the  earth,  whilst  the  cinders  will  remain  on 
the  top,  to  be,  from  time  to  time,  thrown  on  the  fire. 

"Of  course,  the  most  economical  method  is  to  provide 
in  the  summer-time  a  winter  store  of  dry  earth,  which  may 
be  kept  in  an  out-house,  shed,  or  other  convenient  place, 
just  as  we  lay  in  a  winter  store  of  coals. 

"  THINGS  TO  BE  OBSERVED. 

"  Let  one  fall  of  earth  be  in  the  pail  before  using. 
"  The  earth  must  be  dry  and  sifted. 
"  Sand  must  not  be  used. 
"  No  *  slops '  must  be  thrown  down. 
"  The  handle  must  be  pulled  up  with  a  jerk,  and  let  fall 
sharply." 

REPEATED  USE  OP  EAJRTH. 

Concerning  the  value  and  use  of  the  product  of  the  earth- 
closet,  the  following  is  copied  from  the  London  company's 
circular.  (It  will  be  noticed  that  reference  is  made  to  the 
repeated  use  of  the  same  earth.  When  the  ordure  is  com- 
pletely dried  and  decomposed,  it  has  not  only  lost  its  odor, 
but  it  has  become,  like  all  decomposed  organic  matter,  an 
excellent  disinfectant,  and  the  fifth  or  sixth  time  that  the 
same  earth  is  passed  through  the  closet  it  is  fully  as  efiective 
in  destroying  odors  as  it  was  when  used  for  the  first  time, 


41C> 

and  of  course  each  use  adds  to  its  value  as  manure,  until  it 
becomes  as  strong  as  Peruvian  guano,  which  is  now  worth 
seventy-five  dollars  per  ton.  In  fact,  it  may  be  made  so 
rich  that  one  hundred  pounds  will  be  a  good  dressing  for  an 
acre  of  land.) 

"  If  the  closet  is  over  a  water-tight  cesspool  or  pit,  it  will 
require  emptying  at  the  end  of  three  or  six  months.  The 
produce,  which  will  be  quite  inodorous,  should  be  thrown 
together  in  a  heap,  sheltered  from  wet,  and  occasionally 
turned  over.  At  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,  it  will  be  dry  and 
fit  for  use. 

"  If  the  receptacle  be  an  iron  trough  or  pail,  the  contents 
should  be  thrown  together,  re-dried,  and  used  over  again, 
four  or  five  times.  In  a  few  weeks  they  will  be  dry  and  fit 
for  use ;  the  value  being  increased  by  repeated  action.  The 
condition  of  the  manure  should  be  much  the  same  as  that 
of  guano,  and  fit  for  drilling. 

The  inventor  of  the  earth-closet,  Rev.  Mr.  Moule,  says : 

"  It  was  to  this  point  (the  power  of  earth  or  clay  to  ab- 
sorb the  products  of  the  decomposition  of  manure)  but  par- 
ticularly to  the  repeated  action,  and  consequently  the  re- 
peated use  of  the  same  earth,  that  I  first  directed  the 
attention  of  the  public.  I  then  pointed  out :  First.  That 
a  very  small  portion  of  dry  and  sifted  earth  (one  and  a 
half  pints)  is  sufficient  by  covering  the  deposit,  to  prevent 
fermentation,  (which  so  soon  sets  in  whenever  water  is  used,) 
and  the  consequent  generation  and  emission  of  noxious 
gases.  Second.  That  if  within  a  few  hours,  or  even  a  few 
days,  the  mass  that  would  be  formed  by  the  repeated  layers 
of  deposit,  be  intimately  mixed  by  a  coarse  rake  or  spade, 
or  by  a  mixer  made  for  the  purpose,  then,  in  five  or  ten 
minutes,  neither  to  the  eye  or  sense  of  smell  is  an;y  thing 
perceptible  but  so  much  earth.  .  .  .  When  about  three 
cart-loads  of  sifted  earth  had  thus  been  used  for  my  family, 
(which  averaged  fifteen  persons,)  and  left  under  a  shed,  I 
found  -that  the  material  first  employed  was  sufficiently  dried 


EARTH- CLOSETS.  417 

to  be  used  again.  This  process  of  alternate  mixing  and 
drying  was  renewed  five  times,  the  earth  still  retaining  its 
absorbent  powers  apparently  unimpaired.  Of  the  visitors 
taken  to  the  spot,  none  could  guess  the  nature  of  the  com- 
post, though  in  some  cases  the  heap  which  they  visited  in 
the  afternoon  had  been  turned  over  that  same  morning.  .  . 

"  It  is  only  in  towns,  where  the  delivery,  stowage,  and 
removal  of  earth  is  attended  with  cost  and  difficulty,  that 
any  artificial  aid  for  drying  the  compost  would  be  desirable. 
On  premises  not  cramped  for  space,  the  atmosphere, 
especially  with  a  glass  roof  to  the  shed,  will  act  sufficiently 
fast. 

"  You  may  by  means  of  it  (the  earth  system)  have  a  privy 
close  to  the  house  and  a  closet  up-stairs,  from  neither  of 
which  shall  proceed  any  offensive  smell  or  any  noxious  gas. 
A  projection  from  the  back  of  the  cottage,  eight  feet  long 
and  six  feet  wide,  would  be  amply  sufficient  for  this  purpose. 
The  nearer  three  or  four  feet  down-stairs,  would  be  occupied 
by  the  privy,  in  which,  by  the  seat,  would  be  a  receptacle 
for  dry  earth.  The  'soil'  and  earth  would  fall  into  the 
further  five  or  four  feet,  which  would  form  the  covered  and 
closed  shed  for  mixing  and  drying.  Up-stairs,  the  arrange- 
ment would  be  much  the  same,  the  deposit  being  made  to 
fall  clear  of  every  wall.  Through  this  closet  the  removal 
of  noxious  and  offensive  matters  in  time  of  sickness,  and  of 
slop-buckets,  would  be  immediate  and  easy  ;  and  if  the  shed 
below  be  kept  well  supplied  with  earth,  all  effluvium  would 
be  almost  immediately  checked.  As  to  the  trouble  which 
this  will  cause,  a  very  little  experience  will  convince  the 
cottager  that  it  is  less  instead  of  greater,  than  the  women 
generally  go  through  at  present,  while  the  value  of  the 
manure  will  afford  an  inducement  to  exertion. 

"  The  truth  is,  that  the  machinery  is  more  simple,  much 
less  expensive,  and  far  less  liable  to  injury  than  that  of  the 
water-closet.  The  supply  of  earth  to  the  house  is  as  easy 


418  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

as  that  of  coals.  To  the  closet  it  may  be  supplied  more 
easily  than  water  is  supplied  by  a  forcing-pump,  and  to  the 
commode  it  can  be  conveyed  just  as  coal  is  carried  to  the 
chamber.  After  use,  it  can  be  removed  in  either  case  by 
the  bucket  or  box  placed  under  the  seat,  or  from  the  fixed 
reservoir,  with  less  offense  than  that  of  the  ordinary  slop- 
bucket — indeed,  (I  speak  after  four  years'  experience,)  with 
as  little  offense  as  is  found  in  the  removal  of  coal-ashes. 
So  that,  while  servants  and  others  will  shrink  from  novelty 
and  at  first  imagine  difficulties,  yet  many,  to  my  knowledge, 
would  now  vastly  prefer  the  daily  removal  of  the  bucket  or 
the  soil  to  either  the  daily  working  of  a  forcing-pump  or  to 
being  called  upon  once  a  year,  or  once  in  three  years,  to 
assist  in  emptying  a  vault  or  cesspool." 

To  the  above  complete  and  convincingly  apt  arguments 
and  statements  of  fact,  we  do  not  care  to  add  any  thing. 
All  that  we  desire  is  to  direct  public  attention  to  the  ad- 
mirable qualities  of  this  Earth  System,  and  to  suggest  that, 
at  least  for  those  living  in  the  country  away  from  the  many 
conveniences  of  city  life,  great  water  power,  and  mechanical 
assistance,  the  use  of  it  will  conduce  largely  to  the  economy 
of  families,  the  health  of  neighborhoods,  and  the  increasing 
fertility  and  prosperity  of  the  country  round  about. 


XXXYI. 

WABMING   AND  VENTILATION. 

THERE  is  no  department  of  science,  as  applied  to  practical 
matters,  which  has  so  often  baffled  experimenters  as  the 
healthful  mode  of  warming  and  ventilating  houses.  The 
British  nation  spent  over  a  million  on  the  House  of  Parlia- 
ment for  this  end,  and  failed.  Our  own  government  has 
spent  half  a  million  on  the  Capitol,  with  worse  failure ;  and 
now  it  is  proposed  to  spend  a  million  more.  The  reason  is, 
that  the  old  open  fireplace  has  been  supplanted  by  less  ex- 
pensive modes  of  heating,  destructive  to  health  ;  and  science 
has  but  just  begun  experiments  to  secure  a  remedy  for  the 
evil. 

The  open  fire  warms  the  person,  the  walls,  the  floors  and 
the  furniture  by  radiation,  and  these,  together  with  the  fire, 
warm  the  air  by  convection.  For  the  air  resting  on  the 
heated  surfaces  is  warmed  by  convection,  rises  and  gives 
place  to  cooler  particles,  causing  a  constant  heating  of  its 
particles  by  movement.  Thus  in  a  room  with  an  open  fire, 
the  person  is  warmed  in  part  by  radiation  from  the  fire 
and  the  surrounding  walls  and  furniture,  and  in  part  by 
the  warm  air  surrounding  the  body. 

In  regard  to  the  warmth  of  air,  the  thermometer  is  not 
an  exact  index  of  its  temperature.  For  all  bodies  are  con- 
stantly radiating  their  heat  to  cooler  adjacent  surfaces  until 
all  come  to  the  same  temperature.  This  being  so,  the 
thermometer  is  radiating  its  heat  to  walls  and  surrounding 
objects,  in  addition  to  what  is  subtracted  by  the  air  that 
surrounds  it,  and  thus  the  air  is  really  several  degrees 
warmer  than  the  thermometer  indicates.  A  room  at  70° 


420  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 

by  the  thermometer  is  usually  filled  with  air  five  or  more 
degrees  warmer  than  this. 

Now,  the  cold  air  is  denser  than  warm,  and  therefore 
contains  more  oxygen.  Consequently,  the  cooler  the  air  in- 
spired, the  larger  the  supply  of  oxygen  and  of  the  vitality 
and  vigor  which  it  imparts.  Thus,  the  great  problem  for 
economy  of  health  is  to  warm  the  person  as  much  as  pos- 
sible by  radiated  heat,  and  supply  the  lungs  with  cool  air. 
For  when  we  breathe  air  at  from  16°  to  20°,  we  take  double 
the  amount  of  oxygen  that  we  do  when  we  inhale  it  at  80° 
to  90°,  arid  consequently  can  do  double  the  amount  of  muscle 
and  brain  work. 

Warming  by  an  open  fire  is  nearest  to  the  natural  mode 
of  the  Creator,  who  heats  the  earth  and  its  furniture  by  the 
great  central  fire  of  heaven,  and  sends  cool  breezes  for  our 
lungs.  But  open  fires  involve  great  destruction  of  fuel 
and  expenditure  of  money,  and  in  consequence  economic 
methods  have  been  introduced  to  the  great  destruction  of 
health  and  life. 

Of  these  methods,  the  most  popular  is  that  by  which  ra- 
diated heat  is  banished,  and  all  warmth  is  gained  by  intro- 
ducing heated  air.  This  is  the  method  employed  in  our 
national  Capitol,  where  both  warming  and  ventilation  are 
attempted  by  means  of  fans  worked  by  steam,  which  force 
in  the  heated  air.  This  is  an  expensive  mode,  used  only 
for  large  establishments,  and  its  entire  failure  at  our  capi- 
tol  will  probably  prevent  in  future  any  very  extensive  use 
of  it. 

But  the  most  common  mode  of  warming  is  by  heated  air 
introduced  from  a  furnace.  The  chief  objection  to  this  is 
the  loss  of  all  radiated  heat,  and  the  consequent  necessity 
of  breathing  air  which  is  debilitating  both  from  its  heat  and 
also  from  being  usually  deprived  of  the  requisite  moisture 
provided  by  the  Creator  in  all  out-door  air.  Another  ob- 
jection is  the  fact  that  it  is  important  to  health  to  preserve 
an  equal  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  the  greatest  impedi- 


WARMING  AND    VENTILATION.  421 

ment  to  this  is  a  mode  of  heating  which  keeps  the  head  in 
warmer  air  than  the  feet.  This  is  especially  deleterious  in  an 
age  and  country  where  active  brains  are  constantly  drawing 
blood  from  the  extremities  to  the  head.  All  furnace- 
heated  rooms  have  coldest  air  at  the  feet,  and  warmest 
around  the  head.  It  is  also  rarely  the  case  that  furnace- 
heated  houses  have  proper  arrangements  for  carrying  off 
the  vitiated  air. 

There  are  some  recent  scientific  discoveries  that  relate  to 
impure  air  which  may  properly  be  introduced  here.  It  is 
shown  by  the  microscope  that  fermentation  is  a  process 
which  generates  extremely  minute  plants,  that  gradually 
increase  till  the  whole  mass  is  pervaded  by  this  vegetation. 
The  microscope  also  has  revealed  the  fact  that,  in  certain 
diseases,  these  microscopic  plants  are  generated  in  the 
blood  and  other  fluids  of  the  body,  in  a  mode  similar  to 
the  ordinary  process  of  fermentation. 

And,  what  is  very  curious,  each  of  these  peculiar  dis- 
eases generates  diverse  kinds  of  plants.  Thus  in  the  ty- 
phoid fever,  the  microscope  reveals  in  the  fluids  of  the 
patient  a  plant  that  resembles  in  form  some  kinds  of  sea- 
weed. In  chills  and  fever,  the  microscopic  plant  has  an- 
other form,  and  in  small-pox  still  another.  A  work  has 
recently  been  published  in  Europe,  in  which  representa- 
tions of  these  various  microscopic  plants  generated  in  the 
fluids  of  the  diseased  persons  are  exhibited,  enlarged  seve- 
ral hundred  times  by  the  microscope.  All  diseases  that 
exhibit  these  microscopic  plants  are  classed  together,  and 
are  called  Zymotic,  from  a  Greek  word  signifying  to  fer- 
ment. 

These  zymotic  diseases  sometimes  have  a  local  origin,  as 
in  the  case  of  ague  caused  by  miasma  of  swamps;  and 
then  they  are  named  endemic.  In  other  cases,  they  are 
caused  by  persona^  contact  with  the  diseased  body  or  its 
clothing,  as  the  itch  or  small-pox ;  or  else  by  effluvia  from 
the  sick,  as  in  measles.  Such  are  called  contagious  or  infec* 


422  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

tious.  In  other  cases,  diseases  result  from  some  unknown 
cause  in  the  atmosphere,  and  affect  numbers  of  people  at 
the  same  time,  as  in  influenza  or  scarlet  fever,  and  these 
are  called  epidemics. 

It  is  now  regarded  as  probable  that  most  of  these  dis- 
eases are  generated  by  the  microscopic  plants  which  float 
in  an  impure  or  miasmatic  atmosphere,  and  are  taken  into 
the  *blood  by  breathing. 

Recent  scientific  investigations  in  Great  Britain  and 
other  countries  prove  that  the  power  of  resisting  these  dis- 
eases depends  upon  the  purity  of  the  air  which  has  been 
habitually  inspired.  The  human  body  gradually  accom- 
modates itself  to  unhealthful  circumstances,  so  that  people 
can  live  a  long  time  in  bad  air.  But  the  "  reserve  power''* 
of  the  body,  that  is,  the  power  of  resisting  disease,  is  under 
such  circumstances  gradually  destroyed,  and  then  an  epi- 
demic easily  sweeps  away  those  thus  enfeebled.  The 
plague  of  London,  that  destroyed  thousands  every  day, 
came  immediately  after  a  long  period  of  damp,  warm  days, 
when  there  was  no  wind  to  carry  off  the  miasma  thus 
generated ;  while  the  people,  by  long  breathing  of  bad  air, 
were  all  prepared,  from  having  sunk  into  a  low  vitality,  to 
fall  before  the  pestilence. 

Multitudes  of  public  documents  show  that  the  fatality 
of  epidemics  is  always  proportioned  to  the  degree  in  which 
impure  air  has  previously  been  respired.  Sickness  and 
death  are  therefore  regulated  by  the  degree  in  which  air  is 
kept  pure,  especially  in  case  of  diseases  in  which  medical 
treatment  is  most  uncertain,  as  in  cholera  and  malignant 
fevers. 

Investigations  made  by  governmental  authority,  and  by 
boards  of  health  in  this  country  and  in  Great  Britain,  prove 
that  zymotic  diseases  ordinarily  result  from  impure  air 
generated  by  vegetab  e  or  animal  decay,  and  that  in  almost 
all  cases  they  can  be  prevented  by  keeping  the  air  pure. 
The  decayed  animal  matter  sent  off  from  the  skin  and 


WAEMINO   AND    VENTILATION.  423 

lungs  in  a  close,  unventilated  bedroom  is  one  thing  that 
generates  these  zymotic  diseases.  The  decay  of  animal  and 
vegetable  matter  in  cellars,  sinks,  drains,  and  marshy  dis- 
tricts is  another  cause ;  and  the  decayed  vegetable  matter 
thrown  up  by  plowing  up  of  decayed  vegetable  matter  in 
the  rich  soil  in  new  countries  is  another. 

In  the  investigations  made  in  certain  parts  of  Great 
Britain,  it  appeared  that  in  districts  where  the  air  is 
pure  the  deaths  average  11  in  1000  each  year;  while  in 
localities  most  exposed  to  impure  miasma,  the  mortality 
was  45  in  every  thousand.  At  this  rate,  thirty-four  per- 
sons in  every  thousand  died  from  poisoned  air,  who  would 
have  preserved  health  and  life  by  well-ventilated  homes  in 
a  pure  atmosphere.  And,  out  of  all  who  died,  the  propor- 
tion who  owed  their  deaths  to  foul  air  was  more  than  three 
fourths.  Similar  facts  have  been  obtained  by  boards  of 
health  in  our  own  country. 

Mr.  Leeds  gives  statistics  showing,  that  in  Philadelphia, 
by  improved  modes  of  ventilation  and  other  sanitary  me- 
thods, there  was  a  saving  of  3237  lives  in  two  years ;  and 
a  saving  of  three  fourths  of  a  million  of  dollars,  which 
would  pay  the  whole  expense  of  the  public  schools.  Phi- 
ladelphia being  previously  an  unusually  cleanly  and  well- 
ventilated  city,  what  would  be  the  saving  of  life,  health, 
and  wealth  were  such  a  city  as  New- York  perfectly 
cleansed  and  ventilated  ? 

Here  it  is  proper  to  state  again  that  conflicting  opinions 
are  found  in  many  writers  on  ventilation  in  regard  to  the 
position  of  ventilating  registers  to  carry  off  vitiated  air. 
Most  writers  state  that  the  impure  air  is  heavier,  and  falls 
to  the  bottom  of  a  room.  After  consulting  scientific  men 
extensively  on  this  point,  the  writer  finds  the  true  result 
to  be  as  follows :  Carbonic  acid  is  heavier  than  common 
air,  and,  unmixed,  falls  to  the  floor.  But  by  the  principle 
of  diffusion  of  gases,  the  air  thrown  from  the  lungs,  though 
at  first  it  sinks  a  little,  is  gradually  diffused,  and  in  a  heated 


424 

room,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  it  is  found  more  abundant- 
ly at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom  of  the  room,  though  in 
certain  circumstances  it  is  more  at  the  bottom.  For  this 
reason,  registers  to  carry  off  impure  air  should  be  placed  at 
both  the  top  and  bottom  of  a  room. 

In  arranging  for  pure  air  in  dwellings,  it  is  needful  to 
proportion  the  air  admitted  and  discharged  to  the  number 
of  persons.  As  a  guide  to  this,  we  have  the  following  cal- 
culetion  :  On  an  average,  every  adult  vitiates  about  half  a 
pint  of  air  at  each  inspiration,  and  inspires  twenty  times  a 
minute.  This  would  amount  to  one  hogshead  of  air  vitiated 
every  hour  by  every  grown  person.  To  keep  the  air  pure, 
tjiis  amount  should  enter  and  be  carried  out  every  hour 
for  each  person.  If,  then,  ten  persons  assemble  in  a  dining- 
room,  ten  hogsheads  of  air  should  enter  and  ten  be  dis- 
charged each  hour.  By  the  same  rule,  a  gathering  of  five 
hundred  persons  demands  the  entrance  and  discharge  of 
five  hundred  hogsheads  of  air  every  hour,  and  a  thousand 
persons  require  a  thousand  hogsheads  of  air  every  hour. 

In  calculating  the  size  of  registers  and  conductors,  then, 
we  must  have  reference  to  the  number  of  persons  who  are 
to  abide  in  a  dwelling ;  while  for  rooms  or  halls  intended 
for  large  gatherings,  a  far  greater  allowance  must  be 
made. 

The  most  successful  mode  before  the  public,  both  for 
warming  and  ventilation,  is  that  of  Lewis  Leeds,  who  was 
employed  by  government  to  ventilate  the  military  hospi- 
tals and  also  the  treasury  building  at  Washington.  This 
method  has  been  adopted  in  various  school-houses,  and  also 
by  A.  T.  Stewart  in  his  hotel  for  women  in  New -York 
City.  The  1  eeds  plan  embraces  the  mode  of  heating  both 
by  radiation  and  convection,  very  much  resembling  the 
open  fireplace  in  operation,  and  yet  securing  great  econo- 
my. It  is  modeled  strbtly  after  the  mode  adopted  by  the 
Creator  in  warming  and  ventilating  the  earth,  the  home  of 
his  great  earthly  familv.  It  aims  to  have  a  passage  of  pure 


WARMING    AND    VENTILATION.  425 

air  through  every  room,  as  the  breezes  pass  over  the  hills, 
and  to  have  a  method  of  warming  chiefly  by  radiation,  as 
the  earth  is  warmed  by  the  sun.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
air  is  to  be  provided  with  moisture,  as  it  is  supplied  out- 
doors by  exhalations  from  the  earth  and  its  trees  and 
plants. 

The  mode  of  accomplishing  this  is  by  placing  coils  of 
steam,  or  hot  water  pipes,  under  windows,  which  warm  the 
parlor  walls  and  furniture,  partly  by  radiation,  and  partly 
by  the  air  warmed  on  the  heated  surfaces  of  the  coils.  At 
the  same  time,  by  regulating  registers,  or  by  simply  opening 
the  lower  part  of  the  window,  the  pure  air,  guarded  from 
immediate  entrance  into  the  room,  is  admitted  directly 
upon  the  coils,  so  that  it  is  partially  warmed  before  it 
reaches  the  person:  and  thus  cold  drafts  are  prevented. 
Then  the  vitiated  air  is  drawn  off  through  registers  both 
at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  room,  opening  into  a  heated 
exhausting  flue,  through  which  the  constantly  ascending 
current  of  warm  air  carries  it  off.  These  heated  coils  are 
often  used  for  warming  houses  without  any  arrangement 
for  carrying  off  the  vitiated  air,  when,  of  course,  their  pecu- 
liar usefulness  is  gone. 

The  moisture  may  be  supplied  by  a  broad  vessel  placed 
on  or  close  to  the  heated  coils,  giving  a  large  surface  for 
evaporation.  When  rooms  are  warmed  chiefly  by  radiated 
heat,  the  air  can  be  borne  much  cooler  than  in  rooms  warmed 
by  hot-air  furnaces,  just  as  a  person  in  the  radiating  sun  can 
bear  much  cooler  air  than  in.  the  shade.  A  time  will  come 
when  walls  and  floors  will  be  contrived  to  radiate  heat  in 
stead  of  absorbing  it  from  the  occupants  of  houses,  as  is 
generally  the  case  at  the  present  time,  and  then  all  can 
breathe  pure  and  cool  air. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  examine  more  in  detail  the 
modes  of  warming  and  ventilation  employed  in  the  dwell- 
ings planned  for  this  work. 

In  doing  tLis,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  aim  is  not 


426  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'' S  HOME. 

to  give  plans  of  Louses  to  suit  the  architectural  taste  or  the 
domestic  convenience  of  persons  who  intend  to  keep  several 
servants,  and  care  little  whether  they  breathe  pure  or  bad 
air,  nor  of  persons  who  do  not  wish  to  educate  their  children 
to  manual  industry  or  to  habits  of  close  economy. 

On  the  contrary,  the  aim  is,  first,  to  secure  a  house  in 
which  every  room  shall  be  perfectly  ventilated  both  day  and 
night,  and  that  too  without  the  watchful  care  and  constant 
attention  and  intelligence  needful  in  houses  not  provided 
with  a  proper  and  successful  mode  of  ventilation. 

The  next  aim  is,  to  arrange  the  conveniences  of  domestic 
labor  so  as  to  save  time,  and  also  to  render  such  work  less 
repulsive  than  it  is  made  by  common  methods,  so  that  chil- 
dren can  be  trained  to  love  house- work.  And  lastly,  econo- 
my of  expense  in  house-building  is  sought.  These  things 
should  be  borne  in  mind  in  examining  the  plans  of  this 
work. 

In  the  Cottage  plan,  (Chap  II.  Fig.  1,)  the  pure  air  for 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor  is  to  be  introduced  by  a  wooden 
conductor  one  foot  square,  running  under  the  floor  from 
the  front  door  to  the  stove-room ;  with  cross  branches  to 
the  two  large  rooms.  The  pure  air  passes  through  this, 
protected  outside  by  wire  netting,  and  delivered  inside 
through  registers  in  each  room,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  1. 

In  case  open  Franklin  stoves  are  used  in  the  large  rooms, 
the  pure  air  from  the  conductor  should  enter  behind  them, 
and  thus  be  partially  warmed.  The  vitiated  air  is  carried 
off  at  the  bottom  of  the  room  •  through  the  open  stoves,  and 
also  at  the  top  by  a- register  opening  into  a  conductor  to  the 
exhausting  warm-air  shaft,  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
is  the  square  chimney,  containing  the  iron  pipe  which  re- 
ceives the  kitchen  stove-pipe.  The  stove-room  receives  pure 
air  from  the  conductor,  and  sends  off  impure  air  and  the 
smells  of  cooking  by  a  register  opening  directly  into  the 
exhausting  shaft;  while  its  hot  air  and  smoke,  passing 
through  the  iron  pipe,  heat  the  air  of  the  shaft,  and  produce 


WARMING  AND    VENTILATION.  427 

the  exhausting  current.  The  construction  of  the  exhausting 
or  warm-air  shaft  is  described  on  page  63. 

The  large  chambers  on  the  second  floor  (Fig.  12)  have 
pure  air  conducted  from  the  stove-room  through  registers 
that  can  be  closed  if  the  heat  or  smells  of  cooking  are  un- 
pleasant. The  air  in  the  stove-room  will  always  be  moist 
from  the  water  of  the  stove  boiler. 

The  small  chambers  have  pure  air  admitted  from  windows 
sunk  at  top  half  an  inch ;  and  the  warm,  vitiated  air  is  con- 
ducted by  a  register  in  the  ceiling  which  opens  into  a  con- 
ductor to  the  exhausting  warm- air  shaft  'at  the  centre  of  the 
house,  as  shown  in  Fig.  17. 

The  basement  or  cellar  is  ventilated  by  an  opening  into 
the  exhausting  air  shaft,  to  remove  impure  air,  and  a  small 
opening  over  each  glazed  door  to  admit  pure  air.  The  doors 
open  out  into  a  "  well,"  or  recess,  excavated  in  the  earth 
before  the  cellar,  for  the  admission  of  light  and  air,  neatly 
bricked  up  and  whitewashed.  The  doors  are  to  be  made 
entirely  of  strong,  thick  glass  sashes,  and  this  will  give  light 
enough  for  laundry  work ;  the  tubs  and  ironing-table  being: 
placed  close  to  the  glazed  door.  The  floor  must  be  plas- 
tered with  water-lime,  and  the  walls  and  ceiling  be  white- 
washed, which  will  add  reflected  light  to  the  room.  There 
will  thus  be  no  need  of  other  windows,  and  the  house 
need  not  be  raised  above  the  ground.  Several  cottages  have 
been  built  thus,  so  that  the  ground  floors  and  conservatories 
are  nearly  on  the  same  level ;  and  all  agree  that  they  are 
pleasanter  than  when  raised  higher. 

When  a  window  in  any  room  is  sunk  at  the  top,  it  should 
have  a  narrow  shelf  in  front  inclined  to  the  opening,  so  as 
to  keep  out  the  rain.  In  small  chambers  for  one  person,  an 
inch  opening  is  sufficient,  and  in  larger  rooms  for  two  per- 
sons, a  two-inch  opening  is  needed.  The  openings  into  the 
exhausting  air  flue  should  vary  from  eight  inches  to  twelve 
inches  square,  or  more,  according  to  the  number  of  persons 
who  are  to  sleep  in  the  room. 


428  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

The  time  when  ventilation  is  most  difficult  is  the  medium 
weather  in  spring  and  fall,  when  the  air,  though  damp,  is 
similar  in  temperature  outside  and  in.  Then  the  warm-air 
flue  is  indispensable  to  proper  ventilation.  This  is  especially 
needed  in  a  room  used  for  school  or  church  purposes. 

Every  room  used  for  large  numbers  should  have  its  air 
regulated  not  only  as  to  its  warmth  and  purity,  but  also  as 
to  its  supply  of  moisture ;  and  for  this  purpose  will  be  found 
very  convenient  the  instrument  called  the  Hygrodeik,* 
which  shows  at  once  the  temperature  and  the  moisture.  A 
work  by  Dr.  Derby  on  Anthracite  Coal,  scientific  men  say 
has  done  much  mischief  by  an  unproved  theory  that  the  dis- 
comfort of  furnace  heat  is  caused  by  the  passage  of  car- 
bonic oxide  through  the  iron  of  the  furnace  heaters,  and  not 
by  want  of  moisture.  God  made  the  air  right,  and  taking 
out  its  moisture  must  be  wrong. 

The  preceding  remarks  illustrate  the  advantages  of  the 
cottage  plan  in  respect  to  ventilation.  The  economy  of 
the  mode  of  warming  next  demands  attention.  In  the  first 
place,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  chimney  being  at  the 
centre  of  the  house,  no  heat  is  lost  by  its  radiation  through 
outside  walls  into  open  air,  as  is  the  case  with  all  fireplaces 
and  grates  that  have  their  backs  and  flues  joined  to  an  out- 
side wall. 

In  this  plan,  all  the  radiated  heat  from  the  stove  serves 
to  warm  the  walls  of  adjacent  rooms  in  cold  weather ;  while 
in  the  warm  season,  the  non-conducting  summer  casings  of 
the  stove  send  all  the  heat  not  used  in  cooking  either  into 
the  exhausting  warm-air  shaft  or  into  the  central  cast-iron 
pipe.  In  addition  to  this,  the  sliding  doors  of  the  stove-room 
(which  should  be  only  six  feet  high,  meeting  the  partition 
coming  from  the  ceiling)  can  be  opened  in  cool  days,  and 
then  the  heat  from  the  stove  would  temper  the  rooms  each 
side  of  the  kitchen.  In  hot  weather,  they  could  be  kept 

*  It  is  manufactured  by  N.  M.  Lowe,  Boston,  and  sold  by  him  and  J. 
Queen  &  Co.,  Philadelphia, 


WARNING    AND    VENTILATION.  429 

closed  except  when  the  stove  is  used,  and  then  opened  only 
for  a  short  time.  The  Franklin  stoves  in  the  large  ro6m 
would  give  the  radiating  warmth  and  cheerful  blaze  of  an 
open  fire,  while  radiating  heat  also  from  all  their  surfaces. 
In  cold  weather,  the  air  of  the  larger  chambers  could  be 
tempered  by  registers  admitting  warm  air  from  the  stove- 
room,  which  would  always  be  sufficiently  moistened  by 
evaporation  from  the  stationary  boiler.  The  conservato- 
ries in  winter,  protected  from  frost  by  double  sashes,  would 
contribute  agreeable  moisture  to  the  larger  rooms.  In  case 
the  size  of  a  family  required  more  rooms,  another  story 
could  be  ventilated  and  warmed  by  the  same  mode,  with 
little  additional  expense. 

We  will  next  notice  the  economy  of  time,  labor,  and 
expense  secured  by  this  cottage  plan.  The  laundry  work 
being  done  in  the  basement,  all  the  cooking,  dish-washing, 
etc.,  can  be  done  in  the  kitchen  and  stove-room  on  the 
ground  floor.  But  in  case  a  larger  kitchen  is  needed,  the 
lounges  can  be  put  in  the  front  part  of  the  large  room,  and 
the  movable  screen  placed  so  as  to  give  a  work-room  adja- 
cent to  the  kitchen,  and  the  front  side  of  the  same  be  used 
for  the  eating-room.  Where  the  movable  screen  is  used, 
the  floor  should  be  oiled  wood.  A  square  piece  of  carpet  can 
be  put  in  the  centre  of  the  front  part  of  the  room,  to  keep 
the  feet  warm  when  sitting  around  the  table,  and  small 
rugs  can  be  placed  before  the  lounges  or  other  sitting-places, 
for  the  same  purpose. 

Most  cottages  are  so  divided  by  entries,  stairs,  closets, 
etc.,  that  there  can  be  no  large  rooms.  But  in  this  plan, 
by  the  use  of  the  movable  screen,  two  fine  large  rooms  can 
be  secured  whenever  the  family  work  is  over,  while  the 
conveniences  for  work  will  very  much  lessen  the  time 
required. 

In  certain  cases,  where  the  closest  economy  is  needful, 
two  small  families  can  occupy  the  cottage,  by  having  a 
movable  screen  in  both  rooms,  and  using  the  kitchen  in 


430  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

common,  or  divide  it  and  have  two  smaller  stoves.  Each 
kftchen  will  then  have  a  window  and  as  much  room  as  is 
given  to  the  kitchen  in  great  steamers  that  provide  for 
several  hundred. 

Whoever  plans  a  house  with  a  view  to  economy  must 
arrange  rooms  around  a  central  chimney,  and  avoid  all  pro- 
jecting appendages.  Dormer  windows  are  far  more  ex- 
pensive than  common  ones,  and  are  less  pleasant.  Every 
addition  projecting  from  a  main  building  greatly  increases 
expense  of  building,  and  still  more  of  warming  and  venti- 
lating. 

It  should  be  introduced,  as  one  school  exercise  in  every 
female  seminary,  to  plan  houses  with  reference  to  economy 
of  time,  labor,  and  expense,  and  also  with  reference  to  good 
architectural  taste ;  and  the  teacher  should  be  qualified  to 
point  out  faults  and  give  the  instruction  needed  to  prevent 
such  mistakes  in  practical  life.  Every  girl  should  be 
trained  to  be  "a  wise  woman"  that  "buildeth  her  house" 
aright. 

There  is  but  one  mode  of  ventilation  yet  tried,  that  will, 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year  and  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
night,  secure  pure  air  without  dangerous  draughts,  and  that 
is  by  an  exhausting  warm-air  flue.  This  is  always  secured 
by  an  open  fireplace,  so  long  as  its  chimney  is  kept  warm 
by  any  fire.  And  in  many  cases,  a  fireplace  with  a  flue  of 
a  certain  dimension  and  height  will  secure  good  ventilation 
except  when  the  air  without  and  within  are  at  the  same 
temperature. 

When  no  exhausting  warm-air  flue  can  be  used,  the 
opening  of  doors  and  windows  is  the  only  resort.  Every 
sleeping-room  without  a  fireplace  that  draws  smoke  well 
should  have  a  window  raised  at  the  bottom  or  sunk  at  the 
top  at  least  an  inch,  with  an  inclined  shelf  outside  or  in,  to 
keep  out  rain,  and  then  it  is  properly  ventilated.  Or  a 
door  should  be  kept  opened  into  a  hall  with  an  open  win- 
dow. Let  the  bed-clothing  be  increased,  so  as  to  keep  warm 


WARMING  AND    VENTILATION.  431 

in  bed,  and  protect  the  head  also,  and  then  the  more  air 
comes  into  a  sleeping-room  the  better  for  health. 

In  reference  to  the  warming  of  rooms  and  houses  already 
built,  there  is  no  doubt  that  stoves  are  the  most  economi- 
cal mode,  as  they  radiate  heat  and  also  warm  by  convec- 
tion. The  grand  objection  to  their  use  is  the  difficulty  of 
securing  proper  ventilation.  If  a  room  is  well  warmed  by 
a  stove  and  then  a  suitable  opening  made  for  the  entrance 
of  a  good  supply  of  out-door  air,  and  by  a  mode  that  will 
prevent  dangerous  draughts,  all  is  right  as  to  pure  air. 
But  in  this  case,  the  feet  are  always  on  cold  floors,  sur- 
rounded by  the  coldest  air,  while  the  head  is  in  air  of 
much  higher  temperature. 

There  is  a  great  difference  as  to  healthfulness  and  econo- 
my in  the  great  variety  of  stoves  with  which  the  market  is 
filled.  The  competition  in  this  manufacture  is  so  strin- 
gent, and  so  many  devices  are  employed  by  agents,  that 
there  is  constant  and  enormous  imposition  on  the  public 
and  an  incredible  outlay  on  poor  stoves,  that  soon  burn 
out  or  break,  while  they  devour  fuel  beyond  calculation. 
If  some  benevolent  and  scientific  organization  could  be 
formed  that  would,  from  disinterested  motives,  afford  some 
reliable  guidance  to  the  public,  it  probably  would  save 
both  millions  of  money  and  much  domestic  discomfort. 

The  stove  described  in  Chapter  Y.  is  protected  by  pa- 
tents in  its  chief  advantages,  but  this  has  not  restrained 
many  of  the  trade  from  incorporating  some  of  its  leading 
excellencies  and  claiming  to  have  added  superior  elements. 
Others  will  inform  any  who  inquire  for  it,  that  it  is  out  of 
market,  because  later  stoves  have  proved  superior.  Should 
any  who  read  this  work  wish  to  be  sure  of  securing  this 
stove,  and  also  of  gaining  minute  directions  for  its  use,  they 
may  apply  to  the  writer,  Miss  C.  E.  Beecher,  69  West  38th 
Street,  New- York,  inclosing  25  cents. 

She  will  then  forward  the  manufacturers'  printed  descrip- 
tive circulars,  and  her  own  advice  as  to  the  best  selection 


432  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

from  the  different  sizes,  and  directions  for  its  use,  based  on 
her  own  personal  experience  and  that  of  many  friends. 
Should  any  purchases  be  made  through  this  medium,  the 
manufacturers  have  agreed  to  pay  a  certain  percentage 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Benevolent  Association  mentioned 
at  the  close  of  this  volume. 

There  is  no  more  dangerous  mode  of  heating  a  room 
than  by  a  gas-stove.  There  is  inevitably  more  or  less 
leakage  of  the  gas  which  it  is  unhealthful  to  breathe. 
And  proper  ventilation  is  scarcely  ever  secured  by  those 
who  use  such  stoves.  The  same  fatal  elements  of  imper- 
fect ventilation  with  its  attendant  horrors  of  disease,  ex- 
travagant wastefulness  of  material,  of  fuel,  of  labor,  of 
time,  and  of  destruction  to  the  apparatus  itself,  seem  con- 
comitants of  all  ordinary  stoves  and  cooking  arrangements 
of  the  present  day,  unless  those  who  use  them  are  constant 
and  unremitting  in  the  exercise  of  intelligent  watchfulness, 
guarding  against  these  evils.  And  in  view  of  the  almost 
inevitable  stupidity  and  carelessness  of  servants,  who  gen- 
erally have  charge  of  such  things,  and  the  frequent 
thoughtlessness  even  of  intelligent  women  who  manage 
their  own  kitchens,  the  writer  believes  she  is  doing  a  pub- 
lic service  by  offering  her  own  experience  as  a  guide  to 
simpler,  cheaper,  and  more  wholesome  means  of  living  and 
preparing  the  family  food. 


XXXYIL 

CARE   OF   THE    HOMELESS,    THE   HELPLESS,    AND   THE   VK3IOU8. 

IN  considering  the  duties  of  the  Christian  family  in  re- 
gard to  the  helpless  and  vicious  classes,  some  recently  de- 
veloped facts  need  to  be  considered.  We  have  stated  that 
the  great  end  for  which  the  family  was  instituted  is  the 
training  to  virtue  and  happiness  of  our  whole  race,  as  the 
children  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  this  with  chief  re- 
ference to  their  eternal  existence  after  death.  In  the 
teachings  of  our  Lord  we  find  that  it  is  for  sinners — 
for  the  lost  and  wandering  sheep,  that  he  is  most  tenderly 
concerned.  It  is  not  those  who  by  careful  training  and 
happy  temperaments  have  escaped  the  dangers  of  life  that 
God  and  good  angels  most  anxiousiy  watch.  "  For  there  is 
more  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  than  over 
ninety  and  nine  that  went  not  astray." 

The  hardest  work  of  all  is  to  restore  a  guilty,  selfish,  har- 
dened spirit  to  honor,  truth,  and  purity;  and  this  is  the 
divine  labor  to  which  the  pitying  Saviour  calls  all  his  true 
followers ;  to  lift  up  the  fallen,  to  sustain  the  weak,*  to  pro- 
tect the  tempted,  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  and  espe- 
cially to  rescue  the  sinful.  This  is  the  peculiar  privilege  of 
woman  in  the  sacred  retreat  of  a  "  Christian  home."  And 
it  is  for  such  self-denying  ministries  that  she  is  to  train  all . 
who  are  under  her  care  and  influence,  both  by  her  teaching 
and  by  her  example. 

In  connection  with  these  distinctive  principles  of  Christ 
for  which  the  family  state  was  instituted,  let  the  following 
facts  be  considered.  The  Massachusetts  Board  of  State 


434  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Charities,  consisting  of  some  of  the  most  benevolent  and 
intelligent  gentlemen  of  that  State,  in  pursuance  of  their 
official  duty  visited  all  the  State  institutions,  and  held  twenty- 
five  meetings  during  the  year  1867-8.  By  these  visits  and 
consequent  discussions  they  arrived  at  certain  conclusions, 
which  may  be  briefly  condensed  as  follows. 

No  state  or  nation  excels  Massachusetts  in  a  wise  and 
generous  care  of  the  helpless,  poor,  and  vicious.  The  agents 
employed  for  this  end  are  frugal,  industrious,  intelligent, 
and  benevolent  men  and  women,  with  high  moral  principles. 
The  pauper  and  criminal  classes  requiring  to  be  cared  for  by 
Massachusetts  are  less  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number 
of  inhabitants  than  in  any  other  state  or  nation.  Yet, 
admirable  as  are  these  comparative  results,  there  is  room 
for  improvement  in  a  most  important  particular.  The 
report  of  the  Board  urges  that  the  present  mode  of  collect- 
ing special  classes  in  great  establishments,  though  it  may 
be  the  best  in  a  choice  of  evils,  is  not  the  best  method  for 
the  physical,  social,  and  moral  improvement  of  those  classes ; 
as  it  involves  many  unfortunate  influences  (which  are  stated 
at  large :)  and  the  report  suggests  that  a  better  way  would 
be  to  scatter  these  unfortunates  from  temporary  receiving 
asylums  into  families  of  Christian  people  all  over  the  State. 

It  is  suggested  in  view  of  the  above,  that  collecting  fallen 
women  into  one  large  community  is  not  the  best  way  to  create 
a  pure  moral  atmosphere ;  and  that  gathering  one  or  two 
hundred  children  in  one  establishment  is  not  so  good  for 
them  as  to  give  each  child  a  home  in  some  loving  Christian 
family.  So  of  the-  aged  and  the  sick,  the  blessings  of  a 
quiet  home,  and  the  tender,  patient  nursing  of  true  Christian 
love,  must  be  sought  in  a  Christian  family,  not  in  a  great 
asylum. 

In  view  of  these  important  facts  and  suggestions,  it  may 
be  inquired,  if  the  great  end  and  aim  of  the  family  state  is 
to  train  the  inmates  to  self-denying  love  and  labor  for  the 
weak,  the  suffering,  and  the  sinful,  how  can  it  be  done 


HOMELESS)   HELPLESS^   AND    VICIOUS.  435 

where  there  are  no  young  children,  no  aged  persons,  no 
invalids,  and  no  sinful  ones  for  whom  &uch  sacrifices  are  to 
be  made  ? 

"Why  are  orphan  children  thrown  upon  the  world,  why 
are  the  aged  held  in  a  useless,  suffering  life,  except  that 
they  may  aid  in  cultivating  tender  love  and  labor  for  the 
helpless,  and  reverence  for  the  hoary  head  ?  And  yet,  how 
few  children  are  trained  thus  to  regard  the  orphan,  the 
aged,  the  helpless,  and  the  vicious  around  them ! 

Great  houses  are  built  for  these  destitute  ones,  and  all  the 
labor  and  self-denial  in  taking  care  of  them  is  transferred 
to  paid  agents,  while  thousands  of  families  are  thus  de- 
prived of  all  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  distinctive  virtues 
of  the  Christian  household. 

In  this  connection,  let  us  look  at  some  facts  recently  pub- 
lished in  the  city  of  New-York. 

The  writer,  Rev.  TV.  O.  Yan  Meter,  says  in  his  report : 

"  The  following  astounding  statistics  are  carefully  selected  from  the 
Reports  of  the  Police,  Board  of  Health,  Citizens'  Association,  and  more 
than  twelve  years'  personal  experience." 

He  then  gives  the  following  description  of  a  section  of 
the  city  only  a  few  rods  from  the  stores  and  residences  of 
those  who  count  their  wealth  by  hundreds  of  thousands  and 
millions,  many  of  them  professing  to  be  followers  of  Christ : 

"First,  we  see  old  sheds,  stable  lofts,  dilapidated  buildings,  too  worth- 
less to  be  repaired,  lofts  over  warehouses  and  shops;  cellars,  too 
worthless  for  business  purposes,  and  too  unhealthy  for  horses  or  pigs, 
and  therefore  occupied  by  human  beings  at  high  rent. — Second,  houses 
erected  for  tenant  purposes.  Take  one  near  our  Mission,  as  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  better  class  of  '•model'1  tenanjt  houses.  It  contains  ono 
hundred  and  twenty-six  families — is  entered  at  the  sides  from  alleys 
eight  feet  wide  ;  and  by  reason  of  another  barrack  of  equal  height,  the 
rooms  are  so  darkened,  that  on  a  cloudy  day  it  is  impossible  to  sew  in 
them  without  artificial  light  It  has  not  one  room  that  can  be  thorough- 
ly ventilated. 

"The  vaults  and  sewers  which  are  to  carry  off  the  filth  of  one  hundred 


436  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 


and  twenty-six  families  bayo  grated  openings  in  the  alleys,  and  door- 
ways in  the  cellars,  through  which  the  deadly  miasma  penetrates  and 
poisons  the  air  of  tne  house  and  courts.  The  water-closets  for  the 
whole  vast  establishment  are  a  range  of  stalls,  without  doors,  and 
accessible  not  only  from  the  building,  but  even  from  the  street.  Com 
fort  here  is  out  of,  the  question  ;  common  decency  impossible,  and  the 
horrid  brutalities  of  the  passenger-ship  are  day  after  day  repeated,  but 
on  a  larger  scale. 

"  In  similar  dwellings  are  living  five  hundred  and  ten  thousand  per- 
sons, (nearly  one  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,)  chiefly  from  the  la- 
boring classes,  of  very  moderate  means,  and  also  the  uncounted  thou- 
sands of  those  who  do  not  know  to-day  what  they  shall  have  to  live  on 
to-morrow.  This  immense  population  is  found  chiefly  in  an  area  of  less 
than  four  square  miles.  The  vagrant  and  neglected  children  among 
them  would  form  a  procession  in  double  file  eight  miles  long  from  the 
Battery  to  Harlem. 

"  In  the  Fourth  ward,  the  tenant-house  population  is  crowded  at  the 
rate  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  inhabitants  to  the  square 
mile.  Such  packing  was  probably  never  equaled  in  any  other  city. 
Were  the  buildings  occupied  by  these  miserable  creatures  removed,  and 
the  people  placed  by  each  other,  there  would  be  but  one  and  two  ninths 
of  a  square  yard  for  each,  and  this  unparalleled  packing  is  increasing. 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-four  families  in  the  ward  live  below  the  side- 
walk, many  of  them  below  high-water  mark.  Often  in  very  high  tide  they 
are  driven  from  their  cellars  or  lie  in  bed  until  the  tide  ebbs.  Not  one  half 
of  the  houses  have  any  drain  or  connection  with  the  sewer.  The  liquid 
refuse  is  emptied  on  the  sidewalk  or  into  the  street,  giving  forth  sick- 
ening exhalations,  and  uniting  its  fetid  streams  with  others  from  similar 
sources.  There  are  more  than  four  hundred  families  in  this  ward  whose 
homes  can  <  nly  be  reached  by  wading  through  a  disgusting  deposit  of 
filthy  refuse.  'In  one  tenant-house  one  hundred  and  forty-six  were 
sick  with  small-pox,  typhus  fever,  scarlatina,  measles,  marasmus,  phthisis 
pulmonalis,  dysentery,  and  chronic  diarrhea.  In  another,  containing 
three  hundred  and  forty-nine  persons,  one  in  nineteen  died  during  the 
year,  and  on  the  day  of  inspection,  which  was  during  the  most  healthy 
season  of  the  year,  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifteen  persons  sick! 
In  another  (in  the  Sixth  Ward,  but  near  us,)  are  sixty-five  families  ; 
seventy-seven  persons  were  sick  or  diseased  at  the  time  of  inspection, 
and  one  in  four  always  sick.  In  fifteen  of  these  families  twenty-five 
children  were  living,  thirty-seven  had  died.' 

44  Here  are  found  the  lowest  class  of  sailor  boarding-houses,  dance- 
houses,  and  dens  of  infamy.  There  are  less  than  two  dwelling-houses 


HOMELESS^   HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS.  437 

for  each  rum-hole.  Here  are  the  poorest,  vilest,  most  degraded,  and 
desperate  representatives  of  all  nations.  In  the  homes  of  thousands 
here,  a  ray  of  sunlight  never  shines,  a  flower  never  blooms,  a  bird  song 
is  never  heard,  a  breath  of  pure  air  never  breathed." 

A  procession  of  vagrant  and  neglected  children  that  in 
double  file  would  reach  eight  miles,  living  in  such  filth, 
vice,  and  unhealthf  ul  pollution ;  all  of  them  God's  children, 
all  Christ's  younger  brethren,  to  save  whom  he  humbled 
himself,  even  to  the  shameful  death  of  the  cross  ! 

Meantime,  the  city  of  New- York  has  millions  of  wealth 
placed  in  the  hands  of  men  and  women  who  profess  to  be 
followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  have  consecrated  them- 
selves, their  time,  and  their  wealth  to  his  service.  And  they 
daily  are  passing  and  repassing  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
streets  where  all  this  misery  and  sin  are  accumulated ! 

So  in  all  our  large  cities  and  towns  all  over  the  land  are 
found  similar,  if  not  so  extensive,  collections  of  vice  and 
misery.  And  even  where  there  are  not  such  extremes  of 
degradation,  there  are  contrasts  of  condition  that  should 
"  give  us  pause."  For  example,  in  the  vicinity  of  our  large 
towns  and  cities  will  be  seen  spacious  mansions  inhabited 
by  professed  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  each  surrounded  by 
ornamented  grounds.  Not  far  from  them  will  be  seen 
Bin  all  tenement-houses,  abounding  with  children,  each  house 
having  about  as  many  square  yards  of  land  as  the  large 
houses  have  square  acres.  In  the  small  tenements,  the  boys 
rise  early  and  go  forth  with  the  father  to  work  from  eight  to 
ten  hours,  with  little  opportunity  for  amusement  or  for 
reading  or  study.  In  the  large  houses,  the  boys  sleep  till 
a  late  breakfast,  then  lounge  about  till  school-time,  then 
spend  three  hours  in  school,  stimulating  brain  and  nerves. 
Then  home  to  a  hearty  dinner,  and  then  again  to  school. 

So  with  the  girls :  in  the  tenement-houses,  they  go  to 
kitchens  and  shops  to  work  most  of  the  day,  with  little 
chance  for  mental  culture  or  the  refinements  cf  taste.  In 
the  large  mansions,  the  daughters  sleep  late,  do  little  or  no 


438  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN^S  HOME. 

labor  for  tlie  family,  and  spend  their  time  in  school,  or  in 
light  reading,  ornamental  accomplishments,  or  amusement. 

Thus  one  class  are  trained  to  feel  that  they  are  a  privi- 
leged few  for  whom  others  are  to  work,  while  they  do  lit- 
tle or  nothing  to  promote  the  improvement  or  enjoyment 
of  their  poorer  neighbors. 

Then,  again,  labor  being  confined  chiefly  to  the  unrefined 
and  uncultivated,  is  disgraced  and  rendered  unattractive  to 
the  young.  One  class  is  overworked,  and  the  body  deterio- 
rates from  excess.  The  other  class  overwork  the  brain 
and  nerves,  and  the  neglected  muscles  grow  thin,  flabby, 
and  weak. 

Notice  also  the  style  in  which  they  accumulate  the  ele- 
gances of  civilization  without  even  an  attempt  to  elevate 
tjieir  destitute  neighbors  to  such  culture  and  enjoyment. 
Their  expensive  pictures  multiply  on  their  frescoed  walls, 
their  elegant  books  increase  in  their  closed  bookcases,  their 
fine  pictures  and  prints  remain  shut  in  portfolios,  to  be 
only  occasionally  opened  by  a  privileged  few.  Their  hand- 
some equipages  are  for  the  comfortable  and  prosperous — 
not  for  the  feeble  and  poor  who  have  none  of  their  own. 
All  their  social  amusements  are  exclusive,  and  their  expen- 
sive entertainments  are  for  those  only  who  can  return  the 
same  to  them. 

Our  Divine  Master  thus  teaches,  "  When  thou  makest 
a  feast,  call  not  thy  kinsmen  or  thy  rich  neighbors,  lest 
they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  recompense  be  made  thee. 
But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  call  the  poor,  for  they  can 
not  recompense  thee ;  for  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the 
resurrection  of  the  just."  Again,  our  Lord,  after  perform- 
ing the  most  servile  office,  taught  thus :  "  If  I,  your  Lord 
and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet,  ye  ought  to  wash  one 
another's  feet." 

In  all  these  large  towns  and  cities  are  women  of  wealth 
and  leisure,  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Some  of  them,  having  property  in  their  own  right,  live  in 


HOMELESS,    HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS.  439 

large  mansions,  with  equipage  and  servants  demanding  a 
large  outlay.  They  travel  abroad,  and  gather  around  them- 
selves the  elegant  refinements  of  foreign  lands.  They  give, 
perhaps,  a  tenth  of  their  time  and  income  (which  is  far  less 
than  was  required  of  the  Jews)  for  benevolent  purposes, 
and  then  think  and  say  that  they  have  consecrated  them- 
selves and  all  they  have  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

If  there  is  any  thing  plainly  taught  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment it  is,  that  the  followers  of  Christ  are  to  be  different 
and  distinct  from  the  world  around  them ;  "a  peculiar 
people,"  and  subject  to  opposition  and  ill-will  for  their  dis- 
tinctive peculiarities. 

Of  these  peculiarities  demanded,  humility  and  meekness 
are  conspicuous:  "  Come  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly,  and  ye  shall  find  rest."  Now,  the  grand  aim 
of  the  rich,  worldly,  and  ambitious  is  to  be  at  least  equal, 
or  else  to  rise  higher  than  others,  in  wealth,  honor,  and 
position.  This  is  the  great  struggle  of  humanity  in  all 
ages,  especially  in  this  country,  and  among  all  classes,  to 
rise  higher — to  be  as  rich  or  richer  than  others — to  be  as 
well  dressed — to  be  more  learned,  or  in  more  honored  posi- 
tions than  others.  This  was  the  very  thing  that  made  con- 
tention among  the  apostles,  even  in  the  company  of  their 
Lord,  as  they  walked  and  "  disputed  who  should  be  the 
greatest."  "  And  Jesus  sat  down  and  called  the  twelve, 
and  said  unto  them,  If  any  man  desire  to  be  first,  the  same 
shall  be  last  and  servant  of  all;"  and  "  he  that  is  least  air  ong 
you  shall  be  great." 

At  another  time,  the  ambitious  mother  of  two  disciples 
came  and  asked  that  her  sons  might  have  the  highest  place 
in  his  kingdom,  and  the  other  disciples  were  "  moved  with 
indignation."  Then  the  Lord  taught  them  that  the  honor 

o 

and  glory  of  his  kingdom  was  to  be  exactly  the  reverse  of 
this  world ;  and  that  whoever  would  be  great  must  be  a 
minister,  and  who  would  be  chief  must  be  a  servant;  eveii 
as  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  to,  but  to 
minister. 


440  THE  AMERICAN    WOMAN'S  HOME. 

Again,  lie  rebuked  the  love  of  high  position  and  the 
desire  of  being  counted  wise  as  teachers  of  others :  "  Be 
not  ye  called  Rabbi,  neither  be  ye  called  Master ;  but  he 
that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your  servant,  and  who- 
soever exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased." 

Then,  as  to  the  strife  after  wealth,  into  which  all  are 
now  rushing  so  earnestly,  the  Lord  teaches  :  "  Lay  not  up 
for  yourselves  treasures  on  earth.  Whosoever  of  you  for- 
saketh  not  all  that  he  hath  can  not  be  my  disciple.  Sell 
that  ye  have,  and  give  alms ;  provide  yourselves  with  bags 
that  wax  not  old — a  treasure  in  heaven  that  faileth  not." 
To  the  rich  young  man,  asking  how  to  gain  eternal  life, 
the  reply  was,  "  Sell  all  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor, 
and  come  and  follow  me."  When  the  poor  widow  cast,  in 
all  her  living,  she  was  approved.  When  the  first  Christians 
were' "  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  they  sold  all  their  pos- 
sessions, to  be  distributed  to  those  that  had  need,  and  were 
approved. 

And  nowhere  do  we  find  any  direction  or  approval  of 
laying  up  money  for  self  or  for  children.  A  man  is  ad- 
monished to  provide  sustenance  and  education  for  his 
family,  but  never  to  lay  up  money  for  them  ;  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  children  of  the  rich  is  a  warning  that,  even  in 
a  temporal  view,  the  chances  are  all  against  the  results  of 
such  use  of  property.  We  are  to  spend  all  to  save  the  world. 
For  this  we  are  to  labor  and  sacrifice  ease  and  wealth,  and 
we  are  to  train  children  to  the  same  self-sacrificing  labors. 
All  that  is  spent  for  earthly  pleasure  ends  here.  Nothing 
goes  into  the  future  world  as  a  good  secured  but  training 
our  own  and  other  immortal  minds.  Thus  only  can  we  lay 
up  treasures  in  heaven. 

There  is  a  crisis  at  hand  in  the  history  of  individuals, 
of  the  church,  and  of  our  nation,  which  must  inaugurate  a 
new  enterprise  to  save  "  the  whole  world."  There  must 
be  something  coming  in  the  Christian  churches  more  con- 
sistent, more  comprehensive,  more  in,  keeping  with  the 


HOMELESS)   HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS.  441 

command  of  our  ascending  Lord—"  Go  ye  (all  my  follow- 
ers) into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture ;  he  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not  shall  be  damned  1" 

It  is  in  hope  and  anticipation  of  such  a  "  revival  "  of  the 
true,  self-denying  spirit  of  Christ  and  of  his  earnest  follow- 
ers, that  plans  have  been  drawn  for  simple  modes  of  living, 
in  which  both  labor  and  economy  may  be  practiced  for 
benevolent  ends,  and  yet  without  sacrificing  the  refinements 
of  high  civilization.  One  method  is  exhibited  in  the  first 
chapters,  adapted  to  country  residence.  In  what  follows 
will  be  presented  a  plan  for  a  city  home,  having  the  same 
aim. 

The  chief  points  are  to  secure  economy  of  labor  and 
time  by  the  selection  and  close  packing  of  conveniences,  and 
also  economy  of  health  by  a  proper  mode  of  warming  and 
ventilation.  In  this  connection  will  be  indicated  opportu- 
nities and  modes  that  thus  may  be  attained  for  aiding  to 
save  the  vicious,  comfort  the  suffering,  and  instruct  the 
ignorant. 

Fig.  71  is  the  ground  plan  of  a  city  tenement  occupy- 
ing two  lots  of  twenty-two  feet  front,  in  which  there  can 
be  no  side  windows ;  as  is  the  case  with  most  city  houses. 
There  are  two  front  and  two  back-parlors,  each  twenty  feet 
square,  with  a  bedroom  and  kitchen  appended  to  each: 
making  four  complete  sets  of  living-rooms.  A  central  hal] 
runs  from  basement  to  roof,  and  is  lighted  by  skylights. 
There  is  also  a  ventilating  recess  running  from  basement 
to  roof  with  whitened  walls,  and  windows  opening  into  it 
secure  both  light  and  air  to  the  bedrooms.  On  one  end  ol 
this  recess  is  a  trash-flue  closed  with  a  door  in  the  basement, 
and  opening  into  each  story,  which  must  be  kept  closed  to 
prevent  an  upward  draught,  causing  dust  and  light  articles  to 
rise.  At  the  other  end  is  a  dumb-waiter,  running  from  cellar 
to  roof,  and  opening  into  the  hall  of  each  story.  Four  chim- 
neys are  constructed  near  the  centre  of  the  house,  one  for 


442  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 

4J 

each  suite  of  rooms,  to  receive  a  smoke-pipe  of  cast-iron  or 
terra  cotta,  as  described  previously,  with  a  space  around  it  for 
warm  air ;  and  this  serves  as  the  exhausting-sliaf t  to  carry 
off  the  vitiated  air  from  parlors,  kitchens,  bedrooms,  and 
water-closets.  In  each  kitchen  is  a  stove  such  as  is  described 
in  Chapter  IV.,  its  pipe  connecting  with  the  central  cast- 
iron  or  terra  cotta  pipe.  The  stove  can  be  inclosed  by 
sliding  doors  shutting  off  the  heat  in  warm  weather.  These 
kitchen  stoves,  and  a  large  stove  in  the  basement  to  warm 
the  central  hall,  would  suffice  for  all  the  rooms,  except  in  the 
coldest  months,  when  a  small  terra  cotta  stove,  made  for  this 
purpose,  or  even  an  ordinary  iron  stove,  placed  by  one 
window  in  each  of  the  parlors,  would  give  the  additional 
heat  needed ;  while  fresh  air  could  be  admitted  from  the 
windows  behind  the  stove,  and  thus  be  partially  warmed. 

This  exhibits  the  essential  feature  and  peculiarity  of  Mr. 
Leeds's  system  of  ventilation,  before  described.  Fresh  air, 
admitted  at  the  bottom  of  a  slightly  raised  window,  is  to 
enter  below  a  window-seat  which  projects  over  the  stove ; 
the  air  being  thus  warmed  before  entering  the  room.  The 
flue  of  the  stove  is  seen  (in  the  finished  corner  of  Fig.  71, 
which  is  a  model  for  the  four  other  suites  of  rooms  on  each 
floor)  running  along  the  wall  to  the  front  chimney,  which 
also  receives  the  corresponding  stove-flue  from  the  nearest 
window  in  the  adjoining  parlor  :  the  same  arrangement  be- 
ing repeated  at  the  back  of  the  house.  Thus,  the  two  front 
and  back  chimneys  are  for  the  heating  and  ventilating 
parlor  stoves  ;  the  four  central  chimneys  for  cooking,  heat- 
ing, and  ventilation. 

"When  possible,  in  a  large  building,  steam  generated  in 
the  basement  heater  will  be  found  better  than  the  parlor 
stove.  In  this  case,  the  room  will  be  heated  by  the  coil 
of  steam-pipe  mentioned  before  ;  the  slab  covering  it  being 
the  window-seat,  or  guard,  under  which  the  cool  fresh  air 
is  con  iucted  to  be  warmed  before  passing  into  the  room. 


Fig.  71. 


444 


THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN'S  HOME. 


Fig.  72  shows  one  side  of  the  parlor,  giving  a  series  of 
sli  ding-doors,  behind  which  are  hooks,  shelves,  and  "  shelf  - 
boxes,"  as  described  earlier  in  the  book. 


Fig.  72. 


The  recess  occupied  by  the  sofa  stands  between  these  two 
closets.  In  case  the  room  is  used  for  sleeping,  the  double 
couch  on  page  30  might  be  substituted  for  the  sofa,  serving 
as  a  lounge  by  day,  and  two  single  beds  by  night.  The 
curtain  hanging  above  can  be  so  fastened  by  rings  on  a 
strong  semi-circular  wire  as  to  be  let  down  while  dressing 
and  undressing,  as  is  done  in-  some  of  our  steamboats. 

Fig.  73. 


HOMELESS,   HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS. 


445 


Pockets  and  hooks  on  the  inside  of  the  curtains  may  be 
made  very  useful. 

Fig.  T3  represents  another  side  of  the  same  room  where 
are  two  large  windows,  each  having  a  cushioned  seat  in  its 
recess,  (although  one  may  be  occupied  by  a  stove,  as  describ- 
ed above.)  A  study-table  with  drawers  on  both  the  front 
and  back  sides  furnishes  large  accommodations  for  many 
small  articles. 

Fig.  74  represents  a  third  side  of  the  same  room,  with 
sliding  doors  glazed  from  top  to  bottom  to  give*  light  to  the 
bedroom  and  kitchen. 

Pig.  74. 


The  fourth  side  appears  on  the  ground  plan  (Fig.  71.) 
The  ottomans  and  a  few  chairs  will  complete  the  needful 
furniture. 

By  means  of  forms,  shelves,  and  shelf-boxes,  the  kitchen 
could  hold  all  stores  and  implements  for  cooking  and  setting 
tables,  on  the  method  shown  page  34.  The  eating  table  is 
close  to  the  kitchen  andNsink,  so  that  few  steps  are  required 
to  bring  and  remove  every  article.  Thus  stove,  sink,  cook- 
ing materials,  the  table  and  its  furniture,  are  all  in  close 
proximity,  and  yet,  when  the  inmates  are  seated  at  table, 
the  sliding-doors  will  shut  out  the  kitchen,  while  the  bad  air 
and  smells  of  cooking  are  carried  off  by  the  ventilating  ex- 
haust-shaft. 


446  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN"* S  HOME. 

The  bedroom  has  a  bath-tub  and  water-closet.  The  tub 
need  not  be  more  than  four  feet  long,  and  a  half-cover 
raised  by  a  hinge  will,  when  down,  hold  wash-bowl  and 
pitcher,  when  the  tub  is  not  in  use.  Around  the  bedroom 
high  and  \vide  shelves  and  shelf -boxes  near  the  ceiling  serve 
to  store  large  articles ;  and  narrower  shelves  with  pegs 
under  them  for  clothing,  protected  by  a  curtain,  furnish 
other  conveniences  for  storage.  The  trash-flue  serves  to 
send  off  rubbish  with  but  few  steps,  and  the  dumb  waiter 
brings  up  fuel,  stores,  etc.  Each  bedroom  must  be  provided 
with  a  ventilating  register  at  the  top,  connecting  with  the 
warm  foul-air  flue  in  the  chimney. 

For  a  family  of  four  persons,  one  parlor,  with  its  kitchen 
and  bedroom,  couches  and  side  closets,  would  supply  all 
needful  accommodations.  For  a  larger  family,  sliding-doors 
into  the  adjacent  parlor,  its  appended  kitchen  being  arrang- 
ed for  another  bedroom,  would  accommodate  a  family  of 
ten  persons. 

A  front  and  a  back  entrance  may  be  in  the  basement, 
which  can  be  used  for  family  stores,  each  family  having 
one  room.  A  general  laundry  with  drying  closets  could  be 
provided  in  the  attic,  and  lighted  from  the  roof. 

Such  a  building,  four  stories  high,  would  accommodate 
sixteen  families  of  four  members,  or  eight  larger  families, 
and  provide  light,  warmth,  ventilation,  and  more  comforts 
and  conveniences  than  are  usually  found  in  most  city  houses 
built  for  only  one  family.  Here  young  married  persons 
with  frugal  and  benevolent  tastes  could  commence  house- 
keeping in  a  style  of  comfort  and  good  taste  rarely  excelled 
in  mansions  of  the  rich.  The  spaces  usually  occupied  by 
stairs,  entries,  closets,  etc.,  would  on  this  plan  be  thrown  into 
fine  large  airy  rooms,  with  every  convenience  close  at  hand. 

In  one  of  our  large  cities  is  to  be  found  a  Christian  lady 
who  inherited  a  handsome  establishment  with  means  to  sup- 
port it  in  the  style  common  to  the  rich.  In  the  spirit  of 
Christ  she  "  sold  all  that  she  had,  and  gave  to  the  poor,"  by 


HOMELESS,  HELPLESS,  AND    VICIOUS.  447 

establishing  a  Home  for  Incurables,  and  making  her  home 
with  them,  giving  her  time  and  wealth  to  promoting  their 
temporal  comfort  and  spiritual  welfare.  "Was  this  doing 
more  than  her  duty — more  than  the  example  and  teachings 
of  Christ  require  ? 

Suppose  several  ladies  of  similai  views  and  character  in 
one  city,  having  only  moderate  wealth  and  leisure,  unite  to 
erect  such  a  building  as  the  one  described,  in  a  light  and 
healthful  part  of  the  city  of  New- York,  and  then  should 
take  up  their  residence  in  it,  and  from  the  vast  accumula- 
tion of  misery  and  sin  at  hand  on  every  side,  should  select 
the  orphans,  the  aged,  the  sick,  and  the  sinful,  and  spend 
time  and  money  for  their  temporal  and  spiritual  elevation ; 
would  they  do  more  than  the  example  and  teachings  of 
Christ  enjoin  ?  Or  ,  would  their  enjoyment,  even  in  this 
life,  be  diminished  by  exchanging  a  routine  chiefly  of  per- 
sonal gratification  for  such  self-denying  ministries  ?  It 
was  "for  ike  joy  that  was  set  before  Him"  through  the 
everlasting  ages  that  our  Lord  "  endured  the  cross,"  and  it  is 
to  the  same  supernal  glories  that  he  invites  his  followers, 
and  by  the  same  path  he  trod. 

Here  it  probably  will  be  said  that  all  rich  women  can 
not  do  what  is  here  suggested,  owing  to  multitudinous 
claims,  or  to  incapacity  of  mind  or  body  for  carrying  out 
such  an  attempt.  It  will  also  be  said  that  there  are  many 
other  ways  for  practicing  self-denial  besides  selling  our 
homes  and  taking  a  humbler  style  of  living.  This  is  all 
true.  But  we  are  told  that  there  are  "greatest"  and 
"  least "  in  that  kingdom  of  heaven  where  the  chief  happi- 
ness is  in  living  to  serve  others,  and  not  for  self.  Those 
who  can  not  change  their  expensive  style  of  living,  and  are 
obliged  to  spend  most  of  their  thoughts  and  wealth  on  self 
and  those  who  are  a  part  of  self,  will  be  among  the  least 
and  lowest  in  happiness  and  honor,  while  those  who  take 
the  low  places  on  earth  to  raise  others  will  be  the  happiest 
and  most  honored  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


448  THE  AMERICAN   WOMAN1  S  HOME. 

There  are  many  residences  in  our  large  cities  where 
women  claiming  to  be  Christ's  followers  live  in  almost  soli- 
tary grandeur  till  the  warm  season,  and  then  shut  them  up 
to  spend  their  time  at  watering-places  or  country  resorts. 
The  property  invested  in  such  city  establishments,  and  the 
income  required  to  keep  them  up,  would  secure  "  Christian 
homes  "  to  many  suffering,  neglected,  homeless  children  of 
Christ,  who  are  living  in  impure  air,  with  all  the  debasing 
influences  found  in  city  tenement-houses.  Meantime,  the 
owners  of  this  wealth  are  suffering  in  mind  and  body  for 
want  of  some  grand  and  noble  object  in  life.  If  such  could 
not  personally  live  in  such  an  establishment  as  is  here  de- 
scribed, by  self-denying  arrangements  and  combinatior 
with  others  they  could  provide  and  superintend  one. 

Our  minds  are  created  in  the  image  of  our  Father  in 
heaven,  and  capable  of  being  made  happy,  as  his  is,  by  the 
outpouring  of  blessings  on  others.  And  when  we  are  in- 
vited by  our  divine  Lord  to  take  his  yoke  and  bear  his 
burden,  it  is  for  our  own  highest  happiness  as  well  as  for 
the  good  of  others.  And  whoever  truly  obeys  finds  the 
yoke  easy  and  the  burden  light,  and  that  they  bring  rest  to 
the  soul.  But  those  who  shrink  from  the  true  good,  to  live 
a  life  of  self-indulgent  ease,  will  surely  find  that  mere 
earthly  enjoyments  pall  on  the  taste,  that  they  perish  in 
the  using,  that  they  never  satisfy  the  cravings  of  a  soul 
created  for  a  higher  sphere  and  nobler  mission. 

The  Bible  represents  that  there  is  an  emergency — a  great 
conflict  in  the  world  unseen — and  that  we  on  earth,  who  are 
Christ's  people,  are  to  take  a  part  in  this  conflict  and  in  the 
"  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,"  to  redeem  his  children  from 
the  slavery  of  sin  and  eternal  death ;  and  there  is  the  same 
call  to  labor  and  sacrifice  now  as  there  was  when  he  com- 
manded, "  Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature." 

But  is  not  the  larger  part  of  the  church — especially  those 
who  have  wealth — practically  living  on  no  higher  princi- 


»      HOMELESS)   HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS.  449 

pies  than  the  pious  Jews  and  virtuous  heathen  ?  Are  they 
not  living  just  as  if  there  were  no  great  emergency,  no 
terrible  risks  and  danger  to  their  fellow-men  in  the  life  to 
come  ?  Are  they  not  living  just  as  if  all  men  were  safe 
after  they  leave  this  world,  and  all  we  need  to  aim  at  is  to 
make  ourselves  and  others  virtuous  and  happy  in  this  life, 
without  disturbing  anxiety  about  the  life  to  come  ?  And 
is  the  training  of  most  Christian  families  diverse  from  that 
of  pious  Jews,  in  reference  to  the  dangers  of  our  fellow- 
men  in  the  future  state,  and  the  consequent  duty  of  labor 
and  sacrifice  in  order  to  extend  the  true  religion  all  over 
the  earth  ? 

One  mode  of  avoiding  self-denial  in  style  of  living  is  by 
the  plea  that,  if  all  rich  Christians  gave  up  the  expensive 
establishments  common  to  this  class  and  adopted  such 
economies  as  are  here  suggested,  it  would  tend  to  lower 
civilization  and  take  away  support  from  those  living  by  the 
fine  arts.  But  while  the  world  is  rushing  on  to  such  pro- 
fuse expenditure,  will  not  all  these  elegancies  and  refine- 
ments be  abundantly  supported,  and  is  there  as  much  dan- 
ger in  this  direction  as  there  is  of  avoiding  the  self-denying 
example  of  Christ  and  his  early  followers  ?  They  gave  up 
all  they  had,  and  "  were  scattered  abroad,  preaching  the 
word ;"  and  was  there  any  reason  existing  then  for  self- 
denying  labor  that  does  not  exist  now  ?  There  are  more 
idolaters  and  more  sinful  men  now,  in  actual  numbers, 
than  there  were  then ;  while  teaching  them  the  way  of 
eternal  life  does  not  now,  as  it  did  then,  involve  the  "  loss 
of  all  things  "  and  "  deaths  often." 

Moreover,  would  not  the  fine  arts,  in  the  end,  be  better 
supported  by  imparting  culture  and  refined  tastes  to  the 
neglected  ones?  Teaching  industry,  thrift,  and  benevo- 
lence is  far  better  than  scattering  alms,  which  often  do 
more  harm  than  good ;  and  would  not  enabling  the  masses 
to  enjoy  the  fine  arts  and  purchase  in  a  moderate  style  sub- 
serve the  interests  of  civilization  as  truly  as  for  the  rich 


450  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

to  accumulate  treasures  for  themselves  in  the  common  ex- 
,  elusive  style  ? 

Suppose  some  Protestant  lady  of  culture  and  fortune 
should  unite  with  an  associate  of  congenial  taste  and 
benevolence  to  erect  such  a  building  as  here  described,  and 
then  devote  her  time  and  wealth  to  the  elevation  and  sal- 
vation of  the  sinful  and  neglected,  would  she  sacrifice  as 
much  as  does  a  Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart  or  a  Sister  of 
Charity,  many  of  whom  have  been  the  daughters  of  princes 
and  nobles  ?  They  resign  to  their  clergy  and  superiors  not 
only  the  control  of  their  wealth  but  their  time,  labor,  and 
conscience.  In  doing  this,  the  Roman  Catholic  lady  is 
honored  and  admired  as  a  saint,  while  taught  that  she  is 
doing  more  than  her  duty,  and  is  thus  laying  up  a  store  of 
good  works  to  repay  for  her  own  past  deficiencies,  and  also 
to  purchase  grace  and  pardon  for  humbler  sinners.  If  this 
is  really  believed,  how  soothing  to  a  wounded  conscience ! 
And  what  a  strong  appeal  to  generous  and  Christian  feel- 
ing !  And  the  more  terrific  the  pictures  of  purgatory  and 
hell,  the  stronger  the  appeal  to  these  humane  and  benevo- 
lent principles. 

But  how  would  it  be  with  the  Protestant  woman  prac- 
ticing such  self-denial  ?  For  example,  the  lady  of  wealth 
and  culture,  who  gave  up  her  property  and  time  to  provide 
a  home  for  incurables — would  her  pastor  say  she  was  doing 
more  than  her  duty  ?  and  if  not,  would  he  preach  to  other 
rich  women  who,  in  other  ways,  could  humble  themselves 
to  raise  up  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  and  the  sinful,  that  they 
are  doing  less  than  their  duty  ? 

Is  it  not  sometimes  the  case,  that  both  minister  and  peo- 
ple, by  example,  at  least,  seem  to  teach  that,  the  more 
riches  increase,  the  less  demand  there  is  for  economy,  labor, 
and  self-denial  for  the  benefit  of  the  destitute  and  the 
sinful  ? 

Protestants  are  little  aware  of  the  strong  attractions 
which  are  drawing  pious  and  benevolent  women  toward 


HOMELESS,   HELPLESS,   AND    VICIOUS.  451 

the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  To  the  poor  and  neglected 
in  humble  life  are  offered  a  quiet  home,  with  sympathy 
and  honored  work.  To  the  refined  and  ambitious  are 
offered  the  best  society  and  high  positions  of  honor  and 
trust.  To  the  sinful  are  offered  pardon  for  past  offenses 
and  a  fresh  supply  of  "  grace  "  for  all  acts  of  penitence  or 
of  benevolence  To  the  anxiously  conscientious,  perplexed 
with  contention^  as  to  doctrines  and  duties,  are  offered  an 
infallible  pope  and  clergy  to  decide  what  is  truth  and  duty, 
and  what  is  the  tiuR  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  while 
they  are  taught  that  the  "  faith  "  which  saves  the  soul  is 
implicit  belief  in  the  teachings  of  the  .Roman  Catholic 
Church.  All  this  enables  many,  even  of  the  intelligent,  to 
receive  the  other  parts  of  a  system  that  contradicts  both 
common  sense  and  the  Bible. 

Meantime,  a  highly  educated  priesthood,  with  no  family 
ties  to  distract  attention,  are  organizing  and  employing 
devoted,  self-denying  women,  all  over  the  land,  to  perform 
the  distinctive  work  that  Protestant  women,  if  wisely 
trained  and  organized  by  their  clergy,  could  carry  out  in 
thousands  of  scattered  Christian  homes  and  villages. 

In  the  Protestant  churches,  women  are  educated  only  to 
be  married ;  and  when  not  married,  there  is  no  position 
provided  which  is  deemed  as  honorable  as  that  of  a  wife. 
But  in  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church,  the  unmarried  woman 
who  devotes  herself  to  works  of  Christian  benevolence  is  the 
most  highly  honored,  and  has  a  place  of  comfort  and  re- 
spectability provided  which  is  suited  to  her  education  and 
capacity.  Thus  come  great  nunneries,  with  lady  superiors 
to  control  conscience  and  labor  and  wealth. 

But  a  time  is  coming  when  the  family  state  is  to  be 
honored  and  ennobled  by  -single  women,  qualified  to  sus- 
tain it  by  their  own  industries ;  women  who  will  both  sup- 
port and  train  the  children  of  their  Lord  and  Master  in  the 
true  style  of  Protestant  independence,  controlled  by  no 
superior  but  Jesus  Christ.  And  in  the  Bible  they  will 


452  THE  A3IERICAJX   WOMAN'S   HOME. 

find  the  Father  of  the  faithful,  to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
their  great  exemplar.  For  nearly  one  hundred  years  Abra 
ham  had  no  child  of  his  own ;  but  his  household,  whom  he 
trained  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen,  were 
children  of  others.  And  he  was  the  friend  of  God,  chosen 
to  be  father  of  many  nations,  because  he  would  "  command 
his  household  to  do  justice  and  judgment  and  keep  the 
way  of  the  Lord." 

The  woman  who  from  true  love  consents  to  resign  her 
independence  and  be  supported  by  another,  while  she 
bears  children  and  trains  them  for  heaven,  has  a  noble 
mission  ;  but  the  woman  who  earns  her  own  independence 
that  -she  may  train  the  neglected  children  of  her  Lord  and 
Saviour  has  a  still  higher  one.  And  a  day  is  coming  when 
Protestant  women  will  be  trained  for  this  their  highest 
m.  :stry  and  profession  as  they  never  yet  have  been. 


xxxvm. 

THE   CHRISTIAN   NEIGHBORHOOD. 

THE  spirit  of  Christian  missions  to  heathen  lands  and  the 
organizations  to  carry  them  forward  commenced,  in  most 
Protestant  lands,  within  the  last  century.  The  writer  can 
remember  the  time  when  an  annual  collection  for  domes- 
tic missions  was  all  the  call  for  such  benefactions  in  a 
wealthy  New-England  parish ;  while  such  small  pittances 
were  customary  that  the  sight  of  a  dollar-bill  in  the  col- 
lection, even  from  the  richest  men  of  the  church-members, 
produced  a  sensation. 

In  the  intervening  period  since  that  time,  the  usual  mode 
of  extending  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen  has  been  for  a 
few  of  the  most  self -sacrificing  men  and  women  to  give  up 
country  and  home  and  all  the  comforts  and  benefits  of  a 
Christian  community,  and  then  commence  the  family  state 
amid  such  vice  and  debasement  that  it  was  ruinous  to 
children  to  be  trained  in  its  midst.  And  so  the  result  has 
been,  in  multitudes  of  cases,  that  children  were  born  only  to 
be  sent  from  parents  to  be  trained  by  strangers,  and  the 
true  "  Christian  family"  could  not  be  exhibited  in  heathen 
lands.  And  as  a  Christian  neighborhood,  in  its  strictest 
sense,  consists  of  a  collection  of  Christian  families,  such  a 
community  has  been  impossible  in  most  cases  among  the 
heathen. 

When  our  Lord  ascended,  his  last  command  was,  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
For  ages,  most  Christian  people  have  supposed  this  command 
was  limited  to  the  apostles.  In  the  present  day,  it  has 


Fig.  75. 


THE   CHRISTIAN  NEIGHBORHOOD.  455 

been  extended  to  include  a  few  men  and  women  who 
should  practice  the  chief  labor  and  self-sacrifice,  while 
most  of  the  church  lived  at  ease,  and  supposed  they  were 
obeying  this  command,  by  giving  a  small  portion  of  their 
abundance  to  support  those  who  performed  the  chief  labor 
and  self-sacrifice. 

But  a  time  is  coming  when  Christian  churches  will  under 
stand  this  command  in  a  much  more  comprehensive  sense ; 
and  the  "  Christian  family"  and  "  Christian  neighborhood" 
will  be  the  grand  ministry  of  salvation.  In  order  to  assist 
in  making  this  a  practicable  anticipation,  some  additional 
drawings  are  given  in  this  chapter.  The  aim  is  to  illustrate 
one  mode  of  commencing  a  Christian  neighborhood  that  is 
so  economical  and  practical  that  two  or  three  ladies,  with 
very  moderate  means,  could  carry  it  out. 

A  small  church,  a  school- house,  and  a  comfortable  family 
dwelling  may  all  be  united  in  one  building,  and  for  a  very 
moderate  sum,  as  will  be  illustrated  by  the  following  ex- 
ample. 

At  the  head  of  the  first  chapter  is  a  sketch  which  repre- 
sents a  perspective  view  of  the  kind  of  edifice  indicated.  On 
the  opposite  page  (Fig.  75)  is  an  enlarged  and  more  exact 
view  of  the  front  elevation  of  the  same,  which  is  now  build- 
ing in  one  of  the  most  Southern  States,  where  tropical  plants 
flourish.  The  three  magnificent  trees  on  the  drawing  heading 
the  first  chapter  are  live-oaks  adorned  with  moss,  rising  over 
one  hundred  feet  high  and  being  some  thirty  or  more  feet 
in  circumference.  Nearly  under  their  shadow  is  the  build- 
ing to  be  described. 

Fig.  76  is  the  ground  plan,  which  includes  one  large  room 
twenty-five  feet  wide  and  thirty-five  feet  long,  having  a  bow 
window  at  one  end,  and  a  kitchen  at  the  other  end.  The 
bow- window  has  folding-doors,  closed  during  the  week,  and 
within  is  the  pulpit  for  Sunday  service.  The  large  room 
may  be  divided  either  by  a  movable  screen  or  by  sliding- 
doors  with  a  large  closet  on  either  side.  The  doors  make 


456 


THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN^S  HOME. 


SCHOOL  ROOM 


a  more  perfect  separation ;  but  the  screen  affords  more  room 
for  storing  family  conveniences,  and  also  secures  more  per- 
fect ventilation  for  the  whole  large  room  by  the  exhaust-flue. 

Thus,     through     the 

Fig<  76<  week,  the  school  can  be 

in  one  division,  and  the 
other  still  a  sizable  room, 
and  the  kitchen  be  used 
for  teaching  domestic 
economy  and  also  for  the 
eating-room.  On  Sun- 
day, if  there  is  a  mov- 
able screen,  it  can  be 
moved  back  to  the  fire- 
place ;  or  otherwise,  the 
sliding  -  doors  may  be 
opened,  giving  the  whole 
space  to  the  congrega- 
tion. The  chimney  is 
finished  off  outside  as  a 
steeple.  It  incloses  a 
cast-iron  or  terra  cotta 
pipe,  which  receives  the 
stove-pipe  of  the  kitchen 
and  also  pipes  connect- 
ing the  two  fire-places 
with  the  large  pipe,  and 
finds  exit  above  the  slats 
of  the  steeple  at  the  pro- 
jections. Thus  the  chim- 
ney is  made  an  exhaust- 
shaft  for  carrying  off  vitiated  air  from  all  the  rooms  both 
above  and  below,  which  have  openings  into  it  made  for  the 
purpose. 

Two  good-sized  chambers  are  over  the  large  lower  story, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  77.     Large  closets  are  each  side  of  these 


-MOVABLE-SCREEN" 


LIVING  ROOM 


THE   CHRISTIAN  NEIGHBORHOOD. 


457 


Fig.  77. 


CHAMBER 


chambers,  where  are  slatted  openings  to  admit  pure  air ;  and 
under  these  openings  are  registers  placed  to  enable  pure  air 
to  pass  through  the  floor 
into  the  large,  room  be- 
low. Thus  a  perfect 
mode  of  ventilation  is  se- 
cured for  a  large  number. 

On  Sunday,  the  fold- 
ing-doors of  the  bow- 
wiiidow  are  to  be  opened 
for  the  pulpit,  the  slid- 
ing-doors  opened,  or  the 
screen  moved  back,  and 
camp  -  chairs  brought 
from  the  adjacent  closet 
to  seat  a  congregation  of 
worshipers. 

During  the  week,  the 
family  work  is  to  be 
done  in  the  kitchen,  and 
the  room  adjacent  be 
used  for  both  a  school 
and  an  eating -room. 
Here  the  aim  will  be, 
during  the  week,  to  col- 
lect the  children  of  the 
neighborhood,  to  be 
taught  not  only  to  read, 
write,  and  cipher,  but  to 
perform  in  the  best  man- 
ner all  the  practical  duties  of  the  family  state.'  Two 
ladies  residing  in  this  building  can  make  an  illustration 
of  the  highest  kind  of  "Christian  family,"  by  adopting 
two  orphans,  keeping  in  training  one  or  two  servants  to 
send  out  for  the  benefit  of  other  families,  and  also  pro- 
viding for  an  invalid  or  aged  member  of  Christ's  neglected 


CHAMBER 


BALCONY 


458  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN1  S  HOME. 

ones.  Here  also  they  could  employ  boys  and  girls  in  van 
ous  kinds  of  floriculture,  horticulture,  bee-raising,  and  other 
out-door  employments,  by  which  an  income  could  be  received 
and  young  men  and  women  trained  to  industry  and  thrift, 
so  as  to  earn  an  independent  livelihood. 

The  above  attempt  has  been  made  where,  in  a  circuit  of 
fifty  miles,  with  a  thriving  population,  not  a  single  church 
is  open  for  Sunday  worship,  and  not  a  school  to  be  found  ex- 
cept what  is  provided  by  faithful  Koman  Catholic  nuns, 
who,  indeed,  are  found  engaged  in  similar  labors  all  over 
our  country.  The  cost  of  such  a  building,  where  lumber  is 
$50  a  hundred  and  labor  $3  a  day,  would  not  much  exceed 
$1200. 

Such  destitute  settlements  abound  all  over  the  West  and 
South,  while,  along  the  Pacific  coast,  China  and  Japan  are 
sending  their  pagan  millions  to  share  our  favored  soil, 
climate,  and  government. 

Meantime,  throughout  our  older  States  are  multitudes  of 
benevolent,  well-educated,  Christian  women  in  unhealthful 
factories,  offices,  and  shops ;  and  many,  also,  living  in  refined 
leisure,  who  yet  are  pining  for  an  opportunity  to  aid  in 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  destitute.  Nothing  is  needed  but 
funds  that  are  in  the  keeping  of  thousands  of  Christ's  pro- 
fessed disciples,  and  organizations  for  this  end,  which  are 
at  the  command  of  the  Protestant  clergy. 

Let  such  a  truly  "  Christian  family"  be  instituted  in  any 
destitute  settlement,  and  soon  its  gardens  and  fields  would 
cause  "  the  desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose,"  and  around  would 
soon  gather  a  "  Christian  neighborhood."  The  school-house 
would  no  longer  hold  the  multiplying  worshipers.  A  cen- 
tral church  would  soon  appear,  with  its  appended  accommo- 
dations for  literary  and  social  gatherings  and  its  appliances 
for  safe  and  healthful  amusements. 

The  cheering  example  would  soon  spread,  and  ere  long 
colonies  from  these  prosperous  and  Christian  communities 
would  go  forth  to  shine  as  "  lights  of  the  world"  in  all  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN  NEIGHBORHOOD.  459 

now  darkened  nations.  Thus  the  "  Christian  family"  and 
"  Christian  neighborhood"  would  become  the  grand  ministry, 
as  they  were  designed  to  be,  in  training  our  whole  race 
for  heaven. 

This  final  chapter  should  not  close  without  a  few  encou- 
raging words  to  those  who,  in  view  of  the  many  difficult 
duties  urged  in  these  pages,  sorrowfully  review  their  past 
mistakes  and  deficiencies.  None  can  do  this  more  sincerely 
than  the  writer.  How  many  things  have  been  done  un- 
wisely even  with  good  motives !  How  many  have  been 
left  undone  that  the  light  of  present  knowledge  would  have 
secured ! 

In  this  painful  review,  the  good  old  Bible  comes  as  the 
abundant  comforter.  The  Epistle  to  the  Komans  was 
written  especially  to  meet  such  regrets  and  fears.  It 
teaches  that  all  men  are  sinners,  in  many  cases  from  igno- 
rance of  what  is  right,  and  in  many  from  stress  of  tempta- 
tion, so  that  neither  Greek  nor  Jew  can  boast  of  his  own 
righteousness.  For  it  is  not  "  by  works  of  righteousness  " 
that  we  are  to  be  considered  and  treated  as  righteous  per- 
sons, but  through  a  "faith  that  works  by  love;"  that  faith 
or  'belief  which  is  not  a  mere  intellectual  conviction,  but  a  con- 
trolling purpose  or  spiritual  principle  which  habitually  con- 
fools  the  feelings  and  conduct.  And  so  long  as  there  is 
this  constant  aim  and  purpose  to  obey  Christ  in  all  things, 
mistakes  in  judgment  as  to  what  is  right  and  wrong  are 
pitied,  "  even  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,"  when  from 
ignorance  they  run  into  harm.  And  even  the  most  guilty 
transgressors  are  freely  forgiven  when  truly  repentant  and 
faithfully  striving  to  forsake  the  error  of  their  ways. 

Moreover,  this  tender  and  pitiful  Saviour  is  the  Almighty 
One  who  rules  both  this  and  the  invisible  world,  and  who 
"  from  every  evil  still  educes  good."  This  life  is  but  the 
infant  period  of  our  race,  and  much  that  we  call  evil,  in 
his  wise  and  powerful  ruling  may  be  for  the  highest  good 
of  all  concerned. 


460  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

The  Blessed  Word  also  cheers  us  with  pictures  of  a  dawn 
ing  day  to  which  we  are  approaching,  when  a  voice  shall 
be  heard  under  the  whole  heavens,  saying,  "  Alleluia" — 
"  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever."  And  "  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven"  will  pro- 
claim, "  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and 
he  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people. 
And  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God. 
And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying ; 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the  former  things 
are  passed  away." 

The  author  still  can  hear  the  echoes  of  early  life,  when 
her  father's  voice  read  to  her  listening  mother  in  exulting 
tones  the  poet's  version  of  this  millennial  consummation, 
which  was  the  inspiring  vision  of  his  long  life-labors — a 
consummation  to  which  all  their  children  were  consecrated, 
and  which  some  of  them  may  possibly  live  to  behold. 


"  0  scenes  surpassing  fable,  and  yet  true ! 
Scenes  of  accomplished  bliss  !  which  who  can  see, 
Though  but  in  distant  prospect,  and  not  feel 
His  soul  refreshed  with  foretaste  of  the  joy  ! 

"  Rivers  of  gladness  water  all  the  earth, 
And  clothe  all  climes  with  beauty ;  the  reproach 
Of  barrenness  is  past.     The  fruitful  field 
Laughs  with  abundance ;  and  the  land  once  lean, 
Or  fertile  only  in  its  own  disgrace, 
Exults  to  see  its  thistly  curse  repealed. 

"  Error  has  no  place  : 
That  creeping  pestilence  is  driven  away  ; 
The  breath  of  Heaven  has  chased  it.     In  the  heart 
No  passion  touches  a  discordant  string, 
But  all  is  harmony  and  love.     Disease 
Is  not :  the  pure  and  uncontaminate  blood 
Holds  its  due  course,  nor  fears  the  frost  of  age. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  NEIGHBORHOOD.  461 

One  song  employs  all  nations ;  and  all  cry, 
'  Worthy  the  Lamb,  for  he  was  slain  for  us!' 
The  dwellers  in  the  vales  and  on  the  rocks 
Shout  to  each  other  ;  and  the  mountain-tops 
From  distant  mountains  catch  the  flying  joy ; 
Till,  nation  after  nation  taught  the  strain, 
Earth  rolls  the  rapturous  hosanna  round. 

"  Behold  the  measure  of  the  promise  filled  1 
See  Salem  built,  the  labor  of  a  God ! 
Bright  as  a  sun  the  sacred  city  shines ; 
All  kingdoms  and  all  princes  of  the  earth 
Flock  to  that  light ;  the  glory  of  all  lands 
Flows  into  her ;  unbounded  is  her  joy, 
And  endless  her  increase.     Thy  rams  are  there, 
Nebaioth,  and  the  flocks  of  Kedar  there ; 
The  looms  of  Ormus  and  the  mines  of  Ind, 
And  Saba's  spicy  groves  pay  tribute  there. 

u  Praise  is  in  all  her  gates  :  upon  her  walls, 
And  in  her  streets,  and  in  her  spacious  courts, 
Is  heard  salvation.     Eastern  Java  there 
Kneels  with  the  native  of  the  farthest  west ; 
And  ^Ethiopia  spreads  abroad  the  hand, 
And  worships.     Her  report  has  traveled  forth 
Into  all  lands.     From  every  clime  they  come 
To  see  thy  beauty,  and  to  share  thy  joy, 
0  Zion  1  an  assembly  such  as  earth 
Saw  never,  such  as  Heaven  stoops  down  to  seeln* 

*  Cowper's  Tost. 


AN   APPEAL 
TO    AMEEIOAK    WOMEN, 

BT  THE 

SEXIOR  AUTHOR  OF  THIS' VOLUME. 


MY  HONORED  COUNTRYWOMEN  : 

IT  is  now  over  forty  years  that  I  have  been  seeking  to 
elevate  the  character  and  condition  of  our  sex,  relying,  aa 
to  earthly  aid,  chiefly  on  your  counsel  and  cooperation. 
I  am  sorrowful  at  results  that  have  followed  these  and 
similar  efforts,  and  ask  your  sympathy  and  aid. 

Let  me  commence  with  a  brief  outline  of  the  past.  I 
commenced  as  an  educator  in  the  city  of  Hartford,  Ct., 
when  only  the  primary  branches  and  one  or  two  imperfect 
accomplishments  were  the  ordinary  school  education,  and 
was  among  the  first 'pioneers  in  seeking  to  introduce  some 
of  the  higher  branches.  The  staid,  conservative  citizens 
queried  of  what  use  to  women  were  Latin,  Geometry,  and 
Algebra,  and  wondered  at  a  request  for  six  recitation 
rooms  and  a  study-hall  for  a  school  of  nearly  a  hundred, 
who  had  as  yet  only  one  room.  The  appeal  was  then 
made  to  benevolent,  intelligent  women,  and  by  their  in- 
fluence all  that  was  sought  was  liberally  bestowed. 

But  the  course  of  study  then  attempted  was  scarcely  half 
of  what  is  now  pursued  in  most  of  our  colleges  for  young 
women,  while  there  has  been  added  a  round  and  extent 


464  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

of  accomplishments  then  unknown.  Yet  this  moderate 
amount  so  stimulated  brain  and  nerves,  and  so  excited 
competition,  that  it  became  needful  to  enforce  a  rule,  re- 
quiring a  daily  report,  that  only  two  hours  a  day  had 
been  devoted  to  study  out  of  school  hours.  Even  this  did 
not  avail  to  save  from  injured  health  both  the  teacher 
who  projected  these  improvements  and  many  of  her  pu 
pils.  This  example  and  that  of  similar  institutions  spread 
all  over  the  nation,  with  constantly  increasing  demand  for 
more  studies,  and  decreasing  value  and  respect  for  domestic 
pursuits  and  duties. 

Ten  years  of  such  intellectual  excitement  exhausted  the 
nervous  fountain,  and  my  profession  as  a  school-teacher 
was  ended. 

The  next  attempt  was  to  introduce  Domestic  Economy 
as  a  science  to  be  studied  in  schools  for  girls.  For  a  while  it 
seemed  to  succeed  ;  but  ere  long  was  crowded  out  by  Poli- 
tical Economy  and  many  other  economies,  except  those 
most  needed  to  prepare  a  woman  for  her  difficult  and  sacred 
duties. 

In  the  progress  of  years,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  older 
States  teemed  with  educated  women,  qualified  for  no  other 
department  of  woman's  profession  but  that  of  a  school- 
teacher, wrhile  the  newer  States  abounded  in  children 
without  schools. 

I  again  appealed  to  my  countrywomen  for  help,  ad- 
dressing them  through  the  press  and  also  by  the  assistance 
of  a  brother  (in  assemblies  in  many  chief  cities)  in  order 
to  raise  funds  to  support  an  agent.  The  funds  were  be- 
stowed, and  thus  the  services  of  Governor  Slade  were 
secured,  and,  mainly  by  these  agencies,  nearly  one  thou- 
sand teachers  were  provided  with  schools,  chiefly  in  the 
West. 

Meantime,  the  intellectual  taxation  in  both  private  and 
public  schools,  the  want  of  proper  ventilation  in  both 
families  and  schools,  the  want  of  domestic  exercise  which 


'  AN  APPEAL   TO  AMERICAN   WOMEN.  465 

is  so  valuable  to  the  feminine  constitution,  the  pernicious 
modes  of  dress,  and  the  prevailing  neglect  of  the  laws  of 
health,  resulted  in  the  general  decay  of  health  among 
women.  At  the  same  time,  the  overworking  of  the  brain 
and  nerves,  and  the  "  cramming  "  system  of  study,  resulted 
in  a  deficiency  of  mental  development  which  is  very 
marked.  It  is  now  a  subjecUof  general  observation  that 
young  women,  at  this  day,  are  decidedly  inferior  in  mental 
power  to  those  of  an  earlier  period,  notwithstanding  their 
increased  advantages.  For  the  mind,  crowded  with  undi- 
gested matter,  is  debilitated  the  same  as  is  the  body  by 
over-feeding. 

Recent  scientific  investigations  give  the  philosophy 
of  these  results.  For  example,  Professor  Houghton,  of 
Trinity  College,  Dublin,  gives  as  one  item  of  protracted 
experiments  in  animal  chemistry,  that  two  hours  of  severe 
study  abstracts  as  much  vital  strength  as  is  demanded  by 
a  whole  day  of  manual  labor.  The  reports  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Board  of  Education  add  other  facts  that,  in  this 
connection,  should  be  deeply  pondered.  For  example,  in 
one  public  school  of  eighty-five  pupils  only  fifty-four  had 
refreshing  sleep  ;  fifty -nine  had  headaches  or  constant 
weariness,  and  only  fifteen  were  perfectly  well.  In  this 
school  it  was  found,  and  similar  facts  are  common  in  all 
our  public  and  high  schools,  that,  in  addition  to  six  school- 
hours,  thirty-one  studied  three  hours  and  a  half;  thirty- 
five,  four  hours ;  and  twelve,  from  four  to  seven  hours. 
And  yet  the  most  learned  medical  men  maintain  that  the 
time  devoted  to  brain  labor,  daily,  should  not  exceed  six 
hours  for  healthy  men,  and  three  hours  for  growing 
children. 

Alarmed  at  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  female  educa- 
tion, I  made  another  appeal  to  my  sex,  which  resulted  in 
the  organization  of  the  American  Woman's  Education  As- 
sociation, the  object  being  to  establish  endowed  professional 
schools,  in  connection  with  literary  institutions,  in  which 


466  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

woman's  profession  should  be  honored  and  taught  as  are 
the  professions  of  men,  and  where  woman  should  be  trained 
for  some  self-supporting  business.  From  this  effort  several 
institutions  of  a  high  literary  character  have  come  into 
existence  at  the  West,  but  the  organization  and  endowment 
of  the  professional  schools  is  yet  ii /complete  from  many  com- 
bining impediments,  the  chief  being  a  want  of  appreciation 
of  woman's  profession,  and  of  the  science  and  training 
which  its  high  and  sacred  duties  require.  But  the  reports 
of  the  Association  will  show  that  never  before  were  such 
superior  intellectual  advantages  secured  to  a  new  country 
by  so  economical  an  outlay. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  dangers  which  are  impending. 
And  first,  in  regard  to  the  welfare  of  the  family  state,  the  de- 
cay of  the  female  constitution  and  health  has  involved  such 
terrific  sufferings,  in  addition  to  former  cares  and  pains  of 
maternity,  that  multitudes  of  both  sexes  so  dread  the  risks 
of  marriage  as  either  to  avoid  it,  or  meet  them  by  methods 
always  injurious  and  often  criminal.  Not  only  so,  multi- 
tudes of  intelligent  and  conscientious  persons,  in  private  and 
by  the  press,  unaware  of  the  penalties  of  violating  nature, 
openly  impugn  the  inspired  declaration,  "Children  are  a 
heritage  of  the  Lord." 

Add  to  these,  other  influences  that  are  robbing  home  of 
its  safe  and  peaceful  enjoyments.  Of  such,  the  condition  of 
of  domestic  service  is  not  the  least.  We  abound  in  domes- 
tic helpers  from  foreign  shores,  but  they  are  to  a  large  extent 
thriftless,  ignorant,  and  unscrupulous,  while  as  thriftless 
and  inexperienced  housekeepers,  from  boarding-school  life, 
have  no  ability  to  train  or  to  control.  Hence  come  antago- 
nism and  ceaseless  "  worries  "  in  the  parlor,  nursery,  and 
kitchen,  while  the  husband  is  wearied  with  endless  com- 
plaints of  breakage,  waste  of  fuel  and  food,  neglect,  dis- 
honesty, an*d  deception,  and  home  is  any  thing  but  a  harbor 
of  comfort  and  peace.  Thus  come  clubs  to  draw  men  from 
comfortless  homes,  and,  next,  clubs  for  the  deserted  women. 


AN  APPEAL  TO  AMERICAN  WOMEN.  467 

Meantime,  domestic  service — disgraced,  on  one  side,  by  the 
stigma  of »  our  late  slavery,  and,  on  the  other,  by  the  influx 
into  our  kitchens  of  the  uncleanly  and  ignorant — is  shunned 
by  the  self-respecting  and  well  educated,  many  of  whom 
prefer  either  a  miserable  pittance  or  the  career  of  vice  to 
this  fancied  degradation.  Thus  comes  the  overcrowding  in 
all  avenues  for  woman's  work,  and  the  consequent  lowering 
of  wages  to  starvation  prices  for  long  protracted  toils. 

From  this  come  diseases  to  the  operatives,  bequeathed 
often  to  their  offspring.  Factory  girls  must  stand  ten 
hours  or  more,  and  consequently  in  a  few  years  debility  and 
disease  ensue,  so  that  they  never  can  rear  healthy  chil- 
dren, while  the  foreigners  who  supplant  them  in  kitchen 
labor  are  almost  the  only  strong  and  healthy  women  to 
rear  large  families.  The  sewing-machine,  hailed  as  a  bless- 
ing, has  proved  a  curse  to  the  poor ;  for  it  takes  away  pro- 
fits from  needlewomen,  while  employers  testify  that  wo- 
men who  use  this  machine  for  steady  work,  in  two  years  or 
less  become  hopelessly  diseased  and  can  rear  no  children. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  controlling  political  majority  of  New- 
England  is  passing  from  the  educated  to  the  children  of 
ignorant  foreigners. 

Add  to  these  disastrous  influences,  the  teachings  of  "  free 
love;"  the  baneful  influence  of  spiritualism,  so  called; 
the  fascinations  of  the  demi-monde ;  the  poverty  of  thou- 
sands of  women  who,  but  for  desperate  temptations,  would 
be  pure — all  these  malign  influences  are  sapping  the  foun- 
dations of  the  family  state. 

Meantime,  many  intelligent  and  benevolent  persons  im- 
agine that  the  grand  remedy  for  the  heavy  evils  that  oppress 
our  sex  is  to  introduce  woman  to  political  power  and  office, 
to  make  her  a  party  in  primary  political  meetings,  in  polit- 
ical caucuses,  and  in  the  scramble  and  fight  for  political  of- 
fices ;  thus  bringing  into  this  dangerous  melee  the  distinctive 
tempting  power  of  her  sex.  Who  can  look  at  this 
danger  without  dismay  ? 


468  TEE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

But  it  is  neither  generous  nor  wise  to  join  in  the  calumny 
and  ridicule  that  are  directed  toward  philanthropic  and  con- 
scientious laborers  for  the  good  of  our  sex,  because  we  fear 
their  methods  are  not  safe.  It  would  be  far  wiser  to  show 
by  example  a  better  way. 

Let  us  suppose  that  our  friends  have  gained  the  ballot 
and  the  powers  of  office :  are  there  any  real  beneficent 
measures  for  our  sex,  which  they  would  enforce  by  law  and 
penalties,  that  fathers,  brothers,  and  husbands  would  not 
grant  to  a  united  petition  of  our  sex,  or  even  to  a  majority 
of  the  wise  and  good  ?  "Would  these  not  confer  what  the 
wives,  mothers,  and  sisters  deemed  best  for  themselves  and 
the  children  they  are  to  train,  very-  much  sooner  than  they 
would  give  power  and  office  to  our  sex  to  enforce  these  ad- 
vantages by  law  ?  Would  it  not  be  a  wiser  thing  to  ask  for 
what  we  need,  before  trying  so  circuitous  and  dangerous  a 
method  1  God  has  given  to  man  the  physical  power,  so 
that  all  that  woman  may  gain,  either  by  petitions  or  by 
ballot,  will  be  the  gift  of  love  or  of  duty ;  and  the  ballot 
never  will  be  accorded  till  benevolent  and  conscientious 
men  are  the  majority — a  millennial  point  far  beyond  our 
present  ken. 

The  'American  Woman's  Education  Association  aims  at 
a  plan  which  its  members  believe,  in  its  full  development, 
will  more  effectually  remedy  the  "  wrongs  of  woman  "  than 
any  other  urged  on  public  notice.  Its  general  aim  has  been 
stated ;  its  details  will  appear  at  another  time  and  place. 
Its  managers  include  ladies  of  high  character  and  position 
from  six  religious  denominations,  and  also  some  of  the  most 
reliable  business  men  of  New- York.  Any  person  wno  is 
desirous  to  aid  by  contributions  to  this  object  can  Learn 
more  of  the  details  of  the  plan  by  addressing  me  at  No.  69 
West  Thirty-eighth  Street.  But  it  is  needful  to  state  that 
letters  from  those  who  seek  aid  or  employment  of  any 
Bort  can  not  be  answered  at  present,  nor  for  some  months 
to  come. 


AN  APPEAL   TO  AMERICAN  WOMEN.  469 

Every  woman  who  wishes  to  aid  in  this  effort  for  the  safety 
and  elevation  of  our  sex  can  do  so  by  promoting  the  sale  of 
this  work,  and  its  introduction  as  a  text-book  into  schools. 
An  edition  for  the  use  of  schools  will  be  in  readiness  next 
fall,  which  will  contain  school  exercises,  and  questions  that 
will  promote  thought  and  discussion  in  class-rooms,  in  ref- 
erence to  various  topics  included  in  the  science  of  Domestic 
Economy.  And  it  is  hoped  that  a  previous  large  sale  of 
the  present  volume  will  prepare  the  public  mind  to  favor 
the  introduction  of  this  branch  of  study  into  both  public 
and  private  schools.  Ladies  who  write  for  the  press,  and  all 
those  who  have  influence  with  editors,  can  aid  by  directing 
general  attention  to  this  effort. 

All  the  profits  of  the  authors  derived  from  the  edition 
of  this  volume  prepared  for  schools,  will  be  paid  into  the 
Treasury  of  the  A.  W.  E.  Association,  and  the  amount  will 
be  stated  in  the  annual  reports. 

The  complementary  volume  of  this  work  will  follow 
in  a  few  months,  and  will  consist,  to  a  great  extent,  of 
receipt?,  and  directions  in  all  branches  of  domestic  economy,  « 
especially  in  the  department  of  healthful  and  economical 
cooking.  The  most  valuable  receipts  in  my  Domestic  Re- 
ceipt-Book, heretofore  published  by  the  Harpers,  will  be  re- 
tained, and  a  very  large  number  added  of  new  ones,  which 
are  healthful,  economical,  and  in  many  cases  ornamental. 
One  special  aim  will  be  to  point  out  modes  of  economizing 
labor  in  preparing  food. 

Many  directions  will  be  given  that  will  save  from  pur- 
chasing poisonous  milk,  meats,  beers,  and  other  medicated 
drinks.  Directions  for  detecting  poisonous  ingredients  in 
articles  for  preserving  the  hair,  and  in  cosmetics  for  the 
complexion,  which  now  are  ruining  health,  eye-sight,  and 
comfort  all  over  the  nation,  will  also  be  given. 

Particular  attention  will  be  given  to  modes  of  preparing 
and  preserving  clothing,  at  once  economical,  healthful,  and 
in  good  taste. 


470  THE  AMERICAN  WOMArfS  HOME. 

A  large  portion  of  the  book  will  be  devoted  to  instruction, 
in  the  various  ways  in  which  women  may  earn  an  inde- 
pendent livelihood,  especially  in  employments  that  can  be 
pursued  in  sunlight  and  the  open  air. 

Should  any  who  read  this  work  wish  for  more  minute 
directions  in  regard  to  ventilation  of  a  house  already  built, 
or  one  projected,  they  can  obtain  his  aid  by  addressing 
Lewis  Leeds,  "No.  110  Broadway,  New- York  City.  His 
associate,  Mr.  Herman  Kreitler,  who  prepared  the  architec- 
tural plans  in  this  work  relating  to  Mr.  Leeds's  system,  can 
be  addressed  at  the  same  place. 

CATHAEINE  E.  BEECHES. 
NEW-YORK,  June  1,  1869. 


APPENDIX. 


A  GLOSSAET 

OF  SUCH  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  AS  MAY  NOT  EASILY  BE  UNDERSTOOB 
BY  THE  YOUNG  READER. 

[Many  words  not  contained  in  this  GLOSSARY  will  be  found  explained 
in  the  body  of  the  work,  in  the  places  where  they  first  occur.] 

Action  brought  "by  the  Commonwealth :  A  prosecution  conducted  in  the 
name  of  the  public,  or  by  the  authority  of  the  State. 

Albumen :  Nourishing  matter  stored  up  between  the  undeveloped  germ 
and  its  protecting  wrappings  in  the  seed  of  many  plants.  It  is  the  flowery 
part  of  grain,  the  oily  part  of  poppy  seeds,  the  fleshy  part  in  cocoa-nuts, 
etc. 

Alcoholic :  Made  of  or  containing  alcohol,  an  inflammable  liquid  which 
is  the  basis  of  ardent  spirits.  • 

Alkali,  (plural,  alkalies :)  A  chemical  substance,  which  has  the  property  of 
combining  with  and  neutralizing  the  properties  of  acids,  producing 
salts  by  the  combination.  Alkalies  change  most  of  the  vegetable  blues 
and  purples  to  green,  red  to  purple,  and  yellow  to  brown.  Caustic 
alkali:  An  alkali  deprived  of  all  impurities,  being  thereby  rendered 
more  caustic  and  violent  in  its  operation.  .  This  term  is  usually  applied  to 
pure  potash.  Fixed  alkali :  An  alkali  that  emits  no  characteristic  smell, 
and  can  not  be  volatilized  or  evaporated  without  great  difficulty.  Potash 
and  soda  are  called  the  fixed  alkalies.  Soda  is  also  called  a  fossil  or 
mineral  alkali,  and  potash  the  vegetable  alkali.  Volatile  alkali :  An 
elastic,  transparent,  colorless,  and  consequently  an  invisible  gas,  known 
by  the  name  of  ammonia  or  aminoniacal  gas.  The  odor  of  spirits  of 
hartshorn  is  caused  by  this  gas. 

Anglo-American :  English-American,  relating  to  Americans  descended 
from  English  ancestors. 

Anther :  That  part  of  the  stamen  of  a  flower  which  contains  the  pollen  or 
farina,  a  sort  of  mealy  powder  or  dust,  which  is  necessary  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  flower. 

Anthracite  :  One  of  the  most  valuable  kinds  of  mineral  coal,  containing  no 
bitumen.  It  is  very  abundant  in  the  United  States. 

Aperient:  Opening. 

Archmlogy  :  A  discourse  or  treatise  on  antiquities. 


474  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Arrowroot :  A  white  powder,  obtained  from  the  fecula  or  starch  of  several 
species  of  tuberous  plants  in  the  East  and  West-Indies,  Bermuda,  and 
other  places.  That  from  Bermuda  is  most  highly  esteemed.  It  is  used 
as  an  article  for  the  table,  in  the  form  of  puddings,  and  also  as  a  highly 
nutritive,  easily  digested,  and  agreeable  food  for  invalids.  It  derives  its 
name  from  having  been  originally  used  by  the  Indians  as  a  remedy 
for  the  poison  of  their  arrows,  by  mashing  and  applying  it  to  the  wound. 

Articulating  process  :  The  protuberance  or  projecting  part  of  a  bone,  by 
which  it  is  so  joined  to  another  bone  as  to  enable  the  two  to  move  upon 
each  other 

Asceticism :  The  state  of  an  ascetic  or  hermit,  who  flies  from  society  and 
lives  in  retirement,  or  who  practices  a  greater  degree  of  mortification 
and  austerity  than  others  do,  or  who  inflicts  extraordinary  severities 
upon  himself. 

Astral  lamp :  A  lamp,  the  principle  of  which  was  invented  by  Benjamin 
Thompson,  (a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  afterward  Count  Rumford,) 
in  which  the  oil  is  contained  in  a  large  horizontal  ring,  having  at  the 
centre  a  burner  which  communicates  with  the  ring  by  tubes.  The  ring 
is  placed  a  little  below  the  level  of  the  flame,  and  from  its  large  surface 
affords  a  supply  of  oil  for  many  hours. 

Astute :  Shrewd. 

Auricles :  (From  a  Latin  word,  signifying  the  ear,)  the  name  given  to  two 
appendages  of  the  heart,  from  their  fancied  resemblance  to  the  ear. 

Baglim,  (George :)  An  eminent  physician,  who  was-  born  at  Ragusa,  in 
1668,  and  was  educated  at  Naples  and  Paris.  Pope  Clement  XIV.,  on 
the  ground  of  his  great  merit,  appointed  him,  while  a  very  young  man, 
Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery  in  the  College  of  Sapienza,  at  Rome. 
He  wrote  several  works,  and  did  much  to  promote  the  cause  of  medical 
science.  He  died  A.D.  1706. 

Bass,  or  bass-wood :  A  large  forest-tree  of  America,  sometimes  called  the 
lime-tree.  The  wood  is  white  and  soft,  and  the  bark  is  sometimes  used 
for  bandages. 

Bell,  Sir  Charles :  A  celebrated  surgeon,  who  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  in 
the  year  1778.  He  commenced  his  career  in  London,  in  1806,  as  a  lec- 
turer on  Anatomy  and  Surgery.  In  1830,  he  received  the  honors  of 
knighthood,  and  in  1836  was  appointed  Professor  of  Surgery  in  the 
College  of  Edinburgh.  He  died  near  Worcester,  in  England,  April  29th, 
1842.  His  writings  are  very  numerous  and  have  been  much  celebrated. 
Among  the  most  important  ol  these,  to  general  readers,  are  his  Illustra- 
tions of  Paley's  Natural  Theology,  and  his  treatise  on  The  Hand,  its 
Mecfianism  and  Vital  Endowments,  as  evincing  Design. 

Bergamot :  A  fruit  which  was  originally  produced  by  ingrafting  a  branch 
of  a  citron  or  lemon-tree  upon  the  stock  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  pear, 
called  the  bergamot  pear. 

Biased ,  Cut  diagonally  from  one  corner  to  another  of  a  square  or  rect- 


GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  475 

angular  piece  of  cloth.  Bias  pieces :  Triangular  pieces  cut  as  above 
mentioned. 

Bituminous :  Containing  bitumen,  which  is  an  inflammable  mineral  sub- 
stance, resembling  tar  or  pitch  in  its  properties  and  uses.  Among 
different  bituminous  substances,  the  names  naphtha  and  petroleum 
have  been  given  to  those  which  are  fluid,  maltha  to  that  which  has  the 
consistence  of  pitch,  and  asphaltum  to  that  which  is  solid. 

Blight :  A  disease  in  plants  by  which  they  are  blasted  or  prevented 
from  producing  fruit. 

Blonde  lace :  Lace  made  of  silk. 

Blood  heat :  The  temperature  which  the  blood  is  always  found  to  main- 
tain, or  ninety-eight  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer. 

Blue  vitriol :  Sulphate  of  copper. 

Blunts  :  Needles  of  a  short  and  thick  shape,  distinguished  from  Sharps, 
which  are  long  and  slender. 

Backing  :  A  kind  of  thin  carpeting  or  coarse  baize. 

Botany :  (From  a  Greek  word  signifying  an  herb,)  a  knowledge  of 
plants ;  the  science  which  treats  of  plants. 

Brazil  wood:  The  central  part  or  heart  of  a  large  tree  which  grows 
in  Brazil,  called  the  CcEsalpinia  echinata.  It  produces  very  lively 
and  beautiful  red  tints,  but  they  are  not  permanent. 

Bronze :  A  metallic  composition,  consisting  of  copper  and  tin. 

Brulure:  A  French  term,  denoting  a  burning  or  scalding;  a  blasting 
of  plants. 

Brussels,  (carpet :)  A  kind  of  carpeting,  so  called  from  the  city  of  Brussels, 
in  Europe.  Its  basis  is  composed  of  a  warp  and  woof  of  strong  linen 
threads,  with  the  warp  of  which  are  intermixed  about  five  times  the 
quantity  of  woolen  threads  of  different  colors. 

Bulb :  A  root  with  a  round  body,  like  the  onion,  turnip,  or  hyacinth, 
Bulbous  :  Having  a  bulb. 

Byron,  (George  Gordon, )  Lord :  A  celebrated  poet,  who  was  bora  in  Lon- 
don, January  22d,  1788,  and  died  in  Missolonghi,  in  Greece,  April  18th, 
1824. 

Calisthenics :  From  two  Greek  words — /taXoj-,  kalos,  beauty,  and  oOevof, 
sthenos,  strength,  being  the  union  of  both. 

Camwood :  A  dyewood,  procured  from  a  leguminous  (or  pod-bearing) 
tree,  growing  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  called  Baphianitida. 

Canker-worm:  A  worm  which  is  very  destructive  to  trees  and  plants. 
It  springs  from  an  egg  deposited  by  a  miller  that  issues  from  the 
ground,  and  in  some  years  destroys  the  leaves  and  fruit  of  apple 
and  other  trees. 

Capillary :  A  minute,  hair-like  tube. 

Carbon:  A  simple,  inflammable  body,  forming  the  principal  part  of 
wood  and  coal,  and  the  whole  of  the  diamond. 


476  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Carbonic  acid :  A  compound  gas,  consisting  of  one  part  of  carbon  and 
two  parts  of  oxygen  ;  fatal  to  animal  life.  It  has  lately  been  obtained 
in  a  solid  form. 

Carbonic  Oxide  :  A  compound,  consisting  of  one  part  of  carbon  and  one 
part  of  oxygen ;  it  is  fatal  to  animal  life.  Burns  with  a  pale,  blue 
flame,  forming  carbonic  acid. 

Carmine:  A  crimson  color,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  reds.  It  is 
prepared  from  a  decoction  of  the  powdered  cochineal  insect,  to  which 
alum  and  other  substances  are  added. 

Caseine :  One  of  the  great  forms  of  blood-making  matter ;  the  cheesy 
or  curd-part  of  milk ;  found  in  both  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms. 

Caster :  A  small  vial  or  vessel  for  the  table,  in  which  to  put  vinegar, 
mustard,  pepper,  etc.  Also,  a  small  wheel  on  a  swivel-joint,  on  which 
furniture  may  be  turned  in  any  direction. 

Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer:  In  England,  the  highest  judge  of  the 
law;  the  principal  financial  minister  of  a  government,  and  the  one 
who  manages  its  revenue. 

Cliateau :  A  castle,  a  mansion. 

Chemistry :  The  science  which  treats  of  the  elementary  constituents  of 
bodies. 

Chinese  belle,  deformities  of:  In  China,  it  is  the  fashion  to  compress 
the  feet  of  female  infants,  to  prevent  their  growth ;  in  consequence 
of  which,  the  feet  of  all  the  females  of  China  are  distorted,  and  so 
email  that  the  individuals  can  not  walk  with  ease. 

Chloride :  A  compound  of  chlorine  and  some  other  substance.  Chlorine  is  a 
simple  substance,  formerly  called  oxymuriatic  acid.  In  its  pure  state,  it  is 
a  gas  of  green  color,  (hence  its  name,  from  a  Greek  word  signi- 
fying green.)  Like  oxygen,  it  supports  the  combustion  of  some  inr 
flammable  substances.  CJdoride  of  lime  is  a  compound  of  chlorine 
and  lime. 

Cholera  infantum :  A  bowel-complaint  to  which  infants  are  subject. 

Chyle :  A  white  juice  formed  from  the  chyme,  and  consisting  of  the  finer 
and  more  nutritious  parts  of  the  food.  It  is  afterward  converted 
into  blood. 

Chyme :  The  result  of  the  first  process  which  food  undergoes  in  the 
stomach  previously  to  its  being  converted  into  chyle. 

Cicuta :  The  common  American  hemlock,  an  annual  plant  of  four  or 
five  feet  in  height,  and  found  commonly  along  walls  and  fences  and 
about  old  ruins  and  buildings.  It  is  a  virulent  poison  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  important  and  valuable  medicinal  vegetables.  It  is 
a  very  different  plant  from  the  hemlock-tree  or  Pinus  Canadensis. 

Clarke,  (Sir  Charles  Mansfield,)  Dr. :  A  distinguished  English  physician 
and  surgeon,  who  was  born  in  London,  May  28th,  1782.  He  was  ap- 
pointed physician  to  Queen  Adelaide,  wife  of  King  William  IV.,  in 


GLOSSARY  OF   WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  477 

1830,  and  in  1831  lie  was  created  a  baronet.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  valuable  medical  works. 

Cobalt :  A  brittle  metal,  of  a  reddish-gray  color  and  weak  metallic  lus- 
tre, used  in  coloring  glass.  It  is  not  easily  melted  nor  oxidized  in  the 
air. 

Cochineal :  A  color  procured  from  the  cochineal  insect,  (or  Coccus  cacti,) 
which  feeds  upon  the  leaves  of  several  species  of  the  plant  called  cac- 
tus, and  which  is  supposed  to  derive  its  coloring  matter  from  its  food. 
Its  natural  color  is  crimson  ;  but,  by  the  addition  of  a  preparation  of 
potash,  it  yields  a  rich  scarlet  dye. 

Cologne-water :  A  fragrant  perfume,  which  derives  its  name  from  having 
been  originally  made  in  the  city  of  Cologne,  which  is  situated  on  the 
river  Rhine,  in  Germany.  The  best  kind  is  still  procured  from  that 
city. 

Comparative  anatomy:  The  science  which  has  for  its  object  a  compari- 
son of  the  anatomy,  structure,  and  functions  of  the  various  organs  of 
animals,  plants,  etc.,  with  those  of  the  human  body. 

Confection  :  A  sweetmeat ;  a  preparation  of  fruit  with  sugar ;  also  a  pre- 
paration of  medicine  with  honey,  syrup,  or  similar  saccharine  substance, 
for  the  purpose  of  disguising  the  unpleasant  taste  of  the  medicine. 

Cooper,  Sir  Astley  Paston :  A  celebrated  English  surgeon,  who  was 
born  at  Brooke,  in  Norfolk  county,  England,  August  23d,  1768,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  surgery  in  London,  in  1792.  He  was  ap- 
pointed surgeon  to  King  George  IV.,  in  1827,  was  created  a  baro- 
net in  1821,  and  died  February  12th,  1841.  He  was  the  author  of  many 
valuable  works. 

Copal :  A  hard,  shining,  transparent  resin,  of  a  light  citron  color, 
brought  originally  from  Spanish-America,  and  now  almost  wholly 
from  the  East-Indies.  It  is  principally  employed  in  the  preparation  of 
copal  varnish, 

Copper,  Sulphate  of:  See  Sulphate  of  copper. 

Copperas:  (Sulphate  of  iron  or  green  vitriol,)  a  bright  green  mineral 
substance,  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  a  peculiar  ore  of  iron 
called  pyrites,  which  is  a  sulphuret  of  iron.  It  is  first  in  the  form  of  a 
greenish-white  powder  or  crust,  which  is  dissolved  in  water,  and  beau- 
tiful gre^en  crystals  of  copperas  are  obtained  by  evaporation.  It  ia 
principally  used  in  dyeing  and  in  making  black  ink.  Its  solution, 
mixed  with  a  decoction  of  oak  bark,  produces  a  black  color. 

Coronary  :  Relating  to  a  crown  or  garland.  In  anatomy,  it  is  applied  to 
arteries  which  encompass  the  heart,  in  the  manner,  as  it  is  fancied,  of 
a  garland. 

Corrosive  sublimate  :  A  poisonous  substance,  composed  of  chlorine  and 
quicksilver. 

Cosmetics  :  Pi  >parations  which  some  people  foolishly  think  will  preserve 
and  beautify  the  skin. 


478  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Cream  of  tartar  :  See  Tartar. 

Curculio :  A  weevil  or  worm,  which  affects  the  fruit  of  the  plum  tree 
and  sometimes  that  of  the  apple-tree,  causing  the  unripe  fruit  to  fall 
to  the  ground. 

Cuvier,  Baron :  The  most  eminent  naturalist  of  the  present  age  ;  was 
born  A.  D.  1769,  and  died  A.D.  1833.  He  was  Professor  of  Natura 
History  in  the  College  6f  France,  and  held  various  important  posts 
under  the  French  government  at  different  times.  His  works  on  Nat 
ural  History  are  of  the  greatest  value. 

Cynosure  :  The  constellation  of  the  Lesser  Bear,  containing  the  star  near 
the  North  Pole,  by  which  sailors  steer.  It  is  used,  in  a  figurative 
sense,  as  synonymous  with  pole-star  or  guide,  or  any  thing  to  which  the 
eyes  of  many  are  directed. 

De  Tocquemlle :  See  Tocquemlle. 

Diamond  cement :  A  cement  sold  in  the  shops,  and  used  for  mending 
broken  glass  and  similar  articles. 

Drab  :  A  thick  woolen  cloth,  of  a  light  brown  or  dun  color.  The  name 
is  sometimes  used  for  the  color  itself. 

Dredging-box  :  A  box  with  holes  in  the  top,  used  to  sift  or  scatter  flour  on 
meat  when  roasting. 

Drill :  (In  husbandry,)  to  sow  grain  in  rows,  drills,  or  channels  ;  the  row 
of  grain  so  sowed, 

Duchess  of  Orleans :  See  Orleans. 

The  East,  and  the  Eastern  States :  Those  of  the  United  States  situated  in 
the  north-east  part  of  the  country,  including  Maine,  New-Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  Vermont. 

Elevation,  (of  a  house  :)  A  plan  representing  the  upright  view  of  a  house, 
as  a  ground-plan  shows  its  appearance  on  the  ground. 

Euclid :  A  celebrated  mathematician,  who  was  born  in  Alexandria,  in 
Egypt,  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  years  before  Christ.  He  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  writings  on  music  and  geometry.  The  most 
celebrated  of  his  works  is  his  Elements  of  Geometry,  which  is  in 
use  at  the  present  day.  He  established  a  school  at  Alexandria,  which 
became  so  famous  that,  from  his  time  to  the  conquest  of  Alexandria  by 
the  Saracens,  (A.D.  646,)  no  mathematician  was  found  who  had  not 
studied  at  Alexandria.  Ptolemy,  King  of  Egypt,  was  one  of  his 
pupils  ;  and  it  was  to  a  question  of  this  king,  whether  there  was  not  a 
shorter  way  of  coming  at  geometry  than  by  the  study  of  his  Elements, 
that  Euclid  made  the  celebrated  answer,  "  There  is  no  royal  path  to 
geometry." 

£^uator  or  equinoctial  line  :  An  imaginary  line  passing  round  the  earth, 
from  east  to  west  and  directly  under  the  sun,  which  always  shines 
nearly  perpendicularly  down  upon  all  countries  situated  near  the 
equator. 

Evolve  :  To  throw  off,  to  discharge. 


GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  4?fl 

Exchequer  :  A  court  in  England  in  which  the  Chancellor  presides,  and 
where  the  revenues  of  and  the  debts  due  to  the  king,  are  recovered. 
This  court  was  originally  established  by  King  William,  (called  "  the 
Conqueror,")  who  died  A.D.  1087 ;  and  its  name  is  derived  from  a 
checkered  cloth  (French  echiguier,  a  chess-board,  checker-work)  on  the 
table. 

Excretion :  Something  discharged  from  the  body,  a  separation  of  animal 
matters. 

Excrementitious  :  Consisting  of  matter  excreted  from  the  body  ;  contain- 
ing excrements. 

Fahrenheit,  (Gabriel  Daniel :)  A  celebrated  natural  philosopher,  who  was 
born  at  Dantzig,  A.D.  1686.  He  made  great  improvements  in  the  ther- 
mometer, and  his  name  is  sometimes  used  for  that  instrument 

Farinaceous :  Mealy,  tasting  like  meal. 

Fell :  To  turn  down  on  the  wrong  side  the  raw  edges  of  a  seam  after  it 
has  been  stitched,  run,  or  sewed,  and  then  to  hem  or  sew  it  to  the  cloth. 

Festivals  of  the  Jews,  the  three  great  annual :  These  were,  the  Feast 
of  the  Passover,  that  of  Pentecost,  and  that  of  Tabernacles ;  on  oc- 
casion of  which,  all  the  males  of  the  nation  were  required  to  vis-it  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  in  whatever  part  of  the  country  they  might 
reside.  See  Exodus  23  :  14,  17 ;  34  :  23 ;  Leviticus  23  :  4  ;  Deuter- 
onomy 16  :  16.  The  Passover  was  kept  in  commemoration  of  the  de- 
liverance of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  and  was  so  named  because  the 
night  before  their  departure  the  destroying  angel,  who  slew  all  the 
first-born  of  the  Egyptians,  passed  over  the  houses  of  the  Israelites 
without  entering  them.  See  Exodus  12.  The  Feast  of  Pentecost  was 
so  called  from  a  word  meaning  the  fiftieth,  because  it  was  celebrated  on 
the  fiftieth  day  after  the  Passover,  and  was  instituted  in  commemoration 
of  the  giving  of  the  Law  from  Mount  Sinai  on  the  fiftieth  day  from  the 
departure  out  of  Egypt.  It  is  also  called  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  because 
it  was  kept  seven  weeks  after  the  Passover.  See  Exodus  34 : 22  ; 
Leviticus  23  :  15-21  ;  Deuteronomy  16  :  9,  10.  The  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, or  Feast  of  Tents,  was  so  called  because  it  was  celebrated  un- 
der tents  or  tabernacles  of  green  boughs,  and  was  designed  to  com 
memorate  their  dwelling  in  tents  during  their  passage  through  the 
wilderness.  At  this  feast  they  also  returned  thanks  to  God  for  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  after  they  had  been  gathered.  See  Exodus  23: 
16 ;  Leviticus  23  :  34-44 ;  Deuteronomy  16  : 13  ;  and  also  St.  John  7  :  2. 

Fire-blight :  A  disease  in  the  pear  and  some  other  fruit-trees,  in  which 
they  appear  burnt  as  if  by  fire.  It  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  caused 
by  an  insect,  others  suppose  it  to  be  caused  by  an  over-abundance  of 
sap. 

Fluting-iron :  An  instrument  for  making  flutes,  channels,  furrows,  or  hol- 
lows in  ruffles,  etc. 


480  GLOSSARY   OF   WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Foundation  muslin, :  A  nice  kind  of  buckram,  stiff  and  white,  used  for  the 

foundation  or  basis  of  bonnets,  etc. 

Free  States :  A  phrase  formerly  used  to  distinguish  those  States  in  which 
slavery  was  not  allowed,  as  distinguished  from  Slave  States,  in  which 
slavery  did  exist. 

French  chalk  :  A  variety  of  the  mineral  called  talc,  unctuous  to  the  touch, 
of  greenish  color,  glossy,  soft,  and  easily  scratched,  and  leaving  a 
silvery  line  wLen  drawn  on  paper.  It  is  used  for  marking  on  cloth,  and 
extracting  grease- spots. 

Fuller's  earth  :  A  species  of  clay  remarkable  for  its  property  of  absorbing 
oil,  for  which  reason  it  is  valuable  for  extracting  grease  from  cloth, 
etc.  It  is  used  by  fullers  in  scouring  and  cleansing  cloth,  whence  its 
name. 

Fustic :  The  wood  of  a  tree  which  grows  in  the  West-Indies  called 
Morus  tinctoria.  It  affords  a  durable  but  not  very  brilliant  yellow 
dye,  and  is  also  used  in  producing  some  greens  and  drab  colors. 

Gattric  :  (From  the  Greek  yaarriQ,  gaster,  the  belly,)  belonging  or  relating 
to  the  belly,  or  stomach.  Gastric  juice  :  The  fluid  which  dissolves  the 
food  in  the  stomach.  It  is  limpid,  like  water,  of  a  saltish  taste,  and 
without  odor. 

Geology  :  The  science  which  treats  of  the  formation  of  the  earth. 

Gluten :  The  glue-like,  sticky,  tenacious  substance  which  gives  adhesiveness 
to  dough.  The  principle  of  gelly,  (now  generally  written  jelly.) 

Gore :  A  triangular  piece  of  cloth.     Goring  :    Cut  in  a  triangular  shape. 

Gothic  :  A  peculiar  and  strongly-marked  style  of  architecture,  sometimes 
called  the  ecclesiastical  style,  because  it  is  most  frequently  used  in 
cathedrals,  churches,  abbeys,  and  other  religious  edifices.  Its  principle 
seems  to  have  originated  in  the  imitation  of  groves  and  bowers,  under 
which  the  ancients  performed  their  sacred  rites  ;  its  clustered  pillars  and 
pointed  arches  very  well  representing  the  trunks  of  trees  and  their  in- 
locking  branches. 

Gourmand  or  Gormand :  A  glutton,  a  greedy  eater.  In  agriculture,  it 
is  applied  to  twigs  which  take  up  the  sap  but  bear  only  leaves. 

Green  vitriol :  See  Copperas. 

Griddle :  An  iron  pan,  of  a  peculiarly  broad  and  shallow  construction, 
used  for  baking  cakes. 

Ground-plan:  The  map- or  plan  of  the  floor  of  any  building,  in  which 
the  various  apartments,  windows,  doors,  .fire-places,  and  other  things 
are  represented,  like  the  rivers,  towns,  mountains,  roads,  etc.,  on  a  map. 

Gum  Arabic :  A  vegetable  j  uice  which  exudes  through  the  bark  of  the 
Acacia,  Mimosa  nilotica,  and  some  other  similar  trees  growing  in 
Arabia,  Egypt,  Senegal,  and  Central  Africa.  It  is  the  purest  of  all 
gums. 

Hardpan  :  The  hard,  unbroken  layer  of  earth  below  the  mould  or  culti- 
vatea  soil 


GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  481 

Hartshorn,  (spirits  of:)  A  volatile  alkali,  originally  prepared  from  the 
horns  of  the  stag  or  hart,  but  now  procured  from  various  other 
substances.  It  is  known  by  the  name  of  ammonia  or  spirits  of 
ammonia. 

Hemlock :  see  Cicuta. 

Horticulturist :  One  skilled  in  horticulture,  or  the  art  of  cultivating  gar- 
dens :  horticulture  being  to  the  garden  what  agriculture  is  to  the  farm, 
the  application  of  labor  and  science  to  a  limited  spot,  for  convenience, 
for  profit,  or  for  ornament — though  implying  a  higher  state  of  cultiva- 
tion than  is  common  in  agriculture.  It  includes  the  cultivation  of 
culinary  vegetables  and  of  fruits,  and  forcing  or  exotic  gardening  as. far 
as  respects  useful  products. 

Hydrogen  :  A  very  light,  inflammable  gas,  of  which  water  is  in  part 
composed.  It  is  used  to  inflate  balloons. 

Hypochondriasis  :  Melancholy,  dejection,  a  disorder  of  the  imagination,  in 
which  the  person  supposes  he  is  afflicted  with  various  diseases. 

Hysteria  or  hysterics  :  A  spasmodic,  convulsive  affection  of  the  nerves, 
to  which  women  are  subject.  It  is  somewhat  similar  to  hypochondriasis 
in  men.  , 

Ingrain  :  A  kind  of  carpeting,  in  which  the  threads  are  dyed  in  the  grain 
or  raw  material  before  manufacture. 

Ipecac  :  (An  abbreviation  of  ipecacuanha,)  an  Indian  medicinal  plant,  act- 
ing as  an  emetic. 

Isinglass  :  A  fine  kind  of  gelatin  or  glue,  prepared  from  the  swimming^ 
bladders  of  fishes,  used  as  a  cement,  and  also  as  an  ingredient  in  food 
and  medicine.  The  name  is  sometimes  applied  to  a  transparent  mineral 
substance  called  mica. 

Jams :  A  side-piece  or  post. 

Kamtschadales :  Inhabitants  of  EamtscJiatka,  a  large  peninsula  situated 
on  the  north-eastern  coast  of  Asia,  having  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  on 
the  east.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  extreme  cold,  which  is  heightened  by 
a  range  of  very  lofty  mountains  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  pen- 
insula, several  of  which  are  volcanic.  It  is  very  deficient  in  vegetable 
productions,  but  produces  a  great  variety  of  animals,  from  which  the 
richest  and  most  valuable  furs  are  procured.  The  inhabitants  are  in 
general  below  the  common  height,  but  have  broad  shoulders  and  large 
heads.  It  is  under  the  dominion  of  Russia. 

Kerosene  :  Refined  Petroleum,  which  see. 

Kink :  A  knotty  twist  in  a  thread  or  rope. 

Lambrequin  :  Originally  a  kind  of  pendent  scarf  or  covering  attached  to  a 
helmet  to  protect  and  adorn  it.  Hence,  a  pendent  ornamental  curtain 
over  a  window.  - 

Lapland  :  A  country  at  the  extreme  north  part  of  Europe,  where  it  is  very 
cold.     It  contains  lofty  mountains,  some  of  which  are  covered  with  pel 
'     petual  snow  and  ice. 


482  GLOSSARY  OF    WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Latin :  The  language  of  the  Latins  or  inhabitants  of  Latium,  the 
principal  country  of  ancient  Italy.  After  the  building  of  Rome,  that 
city  became  the  capital  of  the  whole  country. 

Leguminous :  Pod-bearing. 

Lent :  A  fast  of  the  Christian  Church,  (lasting  forty  days,  from  Ash- 
Wednesday  to  Easter,)  in  commemoration  of  our  Saviour's  miraculous 
fast  of  forty  days  and  forty  nights  in  the  wilderness.  The  word  Lent 
means  spring,  this  fast  always  occurring  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

Levite  :  One  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  the  son  of  Jacob,  which  tribe  was  set 
apart  from  the  others  to  minister  in  the  services  of  the  Tabernacle,  and 
the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  The  priests  were  taken  from  this  tribe.  See 
Numbers  1 :  47-53. 

Ley :  Water  which  has  percolated  through  ashes,  earth,  or  other  sub- 
stances, dissolving  and  imbibing  a  part  of  their  contents.  It  is  gen- 
erally spelled  lye. 

Linnaeus,  (Charles :)  A  native  of  Sweden,  and  the  most  celebrated  natu- 
ralist of  his  age.  He  was  born  May  13th,  1707,  and  died  January  llth, 
1778.  His  life  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  natural  history.  The 
science  of  botany,  in  particular,  ig  greatly  indebted  to  his  labors.  His 
Amcenitates  Academicce  (Academical  Recreations)  is  a  collection  of 
the  dissertations  of  his  pupils,  edited  by  himself,  a  work  rich  in  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  history  and  habits  of  plants.  He  was  the  first  who 
arranged  Natural  History  into  a  regular  system,  which  has  been  gen- 
erally called  by  his  name.  His  proper  name  was  Linne. 

Lobe  :  A  division,  a  distinct  part ;  generally  applied  to  the  two  divisions 
of  the  lungs. 

Loire  :  The  largest  river  of  France,  being  about  five  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  length.  It  rises  in  the  mountains  of  Cevennes,  and  empties 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  about  forty  miles  below  the  city  of  Nantes. 
It  divides  France  into  two  almost  equal  parts. 

London  Medical  Society :  A  distinguished  association,  formed  in  1773. 
It  has  published  some  valuable  volumes  of  its  transactions.  It  has 
a  library  of  about  40,000  volumes,  which  is  kept  in  a  house  presented 
to  the  Society,  in  1788,  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Lettsom,  who  was  one  of 
its  first  members. 

Louis  XIV. :  A  celebrated  King  of  France  and  Navarre,  who  was  born 
September  5th,  1638,  and  died  September  1st,  1715.  His  mother  having 
before  had  no  children,  though  she  had  been  married  twenty-two  years, 
his  birth  was  considered  as  a  particular  favor  from  heaven,  and  he  was 
called  the  "  Gift  of  God."  He  is  sometimes  styled  "  Louis  the  Great," 
and  his  reign  is  celebrated  as  an  era  of  magnificence  and  learning,  and 
is  notorious  as  a  period  of  licentiousness.  He  left  behind  him  monu- 
ments of  unprecedented  splendor  and  expense,  consisting  of  palaces, 
gardens,  and  other  like  works. 


GLOSSARY  CF   WORDS  AND   REFERENCES.  483 

Lumbar :  (From  the  Latin  lurribus,  the  loin,)  relating  or  pertaining  to 
the  loins. 

Lunacy,  wi*it  of:  A  judicial  proceeding  to  ascertain  whether  a  person 
be  a  lunatic. 

Mademoiselle  :  The  French  word  for  miss,  a  young  girl. 

Magnesia:  A  light  and  white  alkaline  earth,  which  enters  into  the 
composition  of  many  rocks,  communicating  to  them  a  greasy  or  soapy 
feeling  and  a  striped  texture,  with  sometimes  a  greenish  color. 

Malaria :  (Italian,  mal'aria,  bad  air,)  a  noxious  vapor  or  exhalation  ;  a 
state  of  the  atmosphere  or  soil,  or  both,  which,  in  certain  regions  and 
in  warm  weather,  produces  fever,  sometimes  of  great  violence. 

Mammon :  Riches,  the  Syrian  god  of  riches.  See  Luke  16  : 11-13  ;  St. 
Matthew  6  : 24. 

Mexico  :  A  country  situated  south-west  of  the  United  States  and  extend- 
ing to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Miasms :  Such  particles  or  atoms  as  are  supposed  to  arise  from  distem 
pered,  putrefying,  or  poisonous  bodies. 

Michilimackinac  or  Mackinac  :  (Now  frequently  corrupted  into  Mack- 
inaw, which  is  the  usual  pronunciation  of  the  name,)  a  military  post 
in  the  State  of  Michigan,  situated  upon  an  island,  about  nine  miles  in 
circuit,  in  the  strait  which  connects  Lakes  Michigan  and  Huron.  It 
is  much  resorted  to  by  Indians  and  fur-traders.  The  highest  summit 
of  the  teland  is  about  three  hundred  feet  above  the  lakes  and  com- 
mands an  extensive  view  of  them. 

Midsummer :  With  us,  the  time  when  the  sun  arrives  at  his  greatest 
distance  from  the  equator,  or  about  the  twenty-first  of  June,  called 
also  the  summer  solstice,  (from  the  Latin  sol,  the  sun,  and  sto,  to  stop  or 
stand  still,)  because  when  the  sun  reaches  this  point  he  seems  to  stand 
still  for  some  time,  and  then  appears  to  retrace  his  steps.  The  days 
are  then  longer  than  at  any  other  time. 

Migrate :  To  remove  from  one  place  to  another  ;  to  change  residence. 

Mildew :  A  disease  of  plants  ;  a  mould,  spot,  or  stain  in  paper,  cloths, 
etc.,  caused  by  moisture. 

Militate  :  To  oppose,  to  operate  against. 

Millinet :  A  coarse  kind  of  stiff  muslin,  formerly  used  for  the  foundation 
or  basis  of  bonnets,  etc. 

Mineralogy  :  A  science  which  treats  of  the  inorganic  natural  substances 
found  upon  or  in  the  earth,  such  as  earths,  salts,  metals,  etc.,  and 
which  are  called  by  the  general  name  of  minerals. 

MinutifB  :  The  smallest  particulars. 

Monastic-ism :  Monastic  life ;  religiously  recluse  life  in  a  monastery  or 
house  of  religious  retirement. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Worthy :  One  of  the  most  celebrated  among  the 
female  literary  characters  of  England.  She  was  daughter  of  Evelyn, 
Duke  of  Kingston,  and  was  born  about  1690,  at  Thoresby,  in  England 


484  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

She  displayed  uncommon  abilities  at  a  very  early  age,  and  was  edu 
cated  by  the  best  'masters  in  the  English,  Latin,  Greek,  and  French 
languages.  She  accompanied  her  husband  (Edward  Wortley  Montagu) 
on  an  embassy  to  Constantinople,  and  her  correspondence  with  her 
friends  was  published  and  much  admired.  She  introduced  the  practice 
of  inoculation  for  the  small-pox  into  England,  which  proved  of  great 
benefit  to  millions.'  She  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  A.D.  1762. 

Moral  Philosophy :  The  science  which  treats  of  the  motives  and  rules 
of  human  actions,  and  of  the  ends  to  which  they  ought  to  be  directed. 

Moreen :  A  kind  of  woolen  stuff  used  for  curtains,  covers  of  cushions, 
bed  hangings,  etc. 

Mortise  :  A  cavity  cut  into  a  piece  of  timber  to  receive  the  end  of  another 
piece  called  the  Tenon. 

Mucous:  Having  the  nature  of  mucus,  a  glutinous,  sticky,  thready, 
transparent  fluid,  of  a  salt  savor,  produced  by  different  membranes  of 
the  body,  antl  serving  to  protect  the  membranes  and  other  internal 
parts  against  the  action  of  the  air,  food,  etc.  The  fluid  of  the  mouth 
and  nose  is  mucus. 

Mucous  membrane  :  That  membrane  which  lines  the  mouth,  nose,  intes- 
tines, and  other  open  cavities  of  the  body. 

Muriatic  acid  :  An  acid  composed  of  chlorine  and  hydrogen,  called  also, 
hydrochloric  acid  and  spirit  of  salt. 

Mush-stick  :  A  stick  to  use  in  stirring  mush,  which  is  corn-meal  boiled  in 
water. 

Nankeen  or  Nankin  :  A  light  cotton  cloth,  originally  brought  from 
Nankin,  in  China,  whence  its  name. 

Nash,  (Richard  :)  Commonly  called  Beau  Nash,  or  King  of  Bath,  a  cele- 
brated leader  of  the  fashions  in  England.  He  was  born  at  Swansea,  in 
South- Wales,  October  8th,  1674,  and  died  in  the  city  of  Bath,  (England,) 
February  3d,  17G1. 

Natural  History  :  The  history  of  animals,  plants,  and  minerals. 

Natural  Philosophy  -:  The  science  which  treats  of  the  powers  of  nature, 
the  properties  of  natural  bodies,  and  their  action  one  upon  another.  It 
is  sometimes  called  physics. 

New-milch  cow  :  A  cow  which  has  recently  calved. 

Newton,  (Sir  Isaac  :)  An  eminent  English  philosopher  and  mathematician, 
who  was  born  on  Christmas  day,  1642,  and  died  March  20th,  1727.  He 
was  much  distinguished  for  his  very  important  discoveries  in  Optics 
and  other  branches  of  Natural  Philosophy.  See  the  first  volume  of  Pur- 
suit of  Knowledge  under  Difficulties,  forming  the  fourteenth  volume 
of  TJie  School  Library,  larger  series. 

Night- Soil :  Human  excrement,  so-called  because  usually  removed  from 
privies  by  night. 

Non-ljearers :  Plants  which  bear  no  flowers  nor  fruit. 


GLOSSARY  OF   WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  485 

Northern  States :  Those  of  the  United  States  situated  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  part  of  the  country. 

Ordinary :  See  Physician  in  ordinary. 

OH  of  Vitriol :  (sulphuric  acid,  or  vitriolic  acid,)  an  acid  composed  of 
oxygen  and  sulphur: 

Oino-mania :  A  disease  of  the  brain  produced  by  excessive  use  of  alcoholic 
stimulants ;  derived  from  two  Greek  words,  oinos,  wine,  and  mania, 
madness.  The  same  disease  sometimes  arises  from  overuse  of  tobacco 
a»d  other  stimulants  of  the  nerves. 

Orleans,  (Elizabeth  Charlotte  de  Bamere^)  Duchess  of:  Second  wife  of 
Philippe,  the  brother  of  Louis  XIV.,  was  born  at  Heidelberg,  May  26th, 
1652,  and  died  at  the  palace  of  St.  Cloud,  in  Paris,  December  8th,  1722. 
She  was  author  of  several  works ;  among  which  were  Memoirs  and 
Anecdotes  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XIV. 

Ottoman  :  A  kind  of  hassock  or  thick  mat  for  kneeling  upon  ;  so-called 
from  being  used  by  the  Ottomans  or  Turks. 

Oxalic  acid  :  a  vegetable  acid,  which  exists  in  sorrel. 

Oxide  :  A  compound  of  a  substance  with  oxygen,  though  not  enough 
oxygen  to  produce  an  acid  ;  for  example,  oxide  of  iron,  or  rust  of  metals. 

Oxidize  :  To  combine  oxygen  with  a  body  without  producing  acidity. 

Oxygen  :  The  vital  element  of  air,  a  simple  and  very  important  substance 
which  exists  in  the  atmosphere  and  supports  the  breathing  of  animals 
and  the  burning  of  combustibles.  It  was  called  oxygen  from  two  Greek 
words,  signifying  to  produce  acid,  from  its  power  of  giving  acidity  to 
many  compounds  in  which  it  predominates. 

Oxygenized  :  Combined  with  oxygen. 

Pancreas:  A  gland  within  the  abdomen  just  below  and  behind  the 
stomach,  and  providing  a  fluid  to  assist  digestion.  In  animals,  it  is 
called  the  sweet-bread.  Pancreatic :  Belonging  to  the  pancreas. 

Parterre :  A  level  division  of  ground,  a  flower-garden. 

Pearlnsh:  The  common  name  for  impure  carbonate  of  potash,  which  in  a 
purer  form  is  called  Saleratus. 

Peristaltic  :  Contracting  in  successive  circles ;  worm-like. 

Petroleum :  Rock  oil,  an  inflammable,  bituminous  liquid  exuding  from 
rocks  or  from  the  earth  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  carboniferous  01 
coal-bearing  formation. 

Phosphorus :  One  of  the  elementary  substances. 

Physician  in  Ordinary  to  the  Queen :  The  physician  who  attends  the 
Queen  in  ordinary  cases  of  illness. 

Pitt,  William  :  A  celebrated  English  statesman,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham. He  was  born  May  28th,  1759,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  was 
made  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  soon  afterward  Prime  Minis- 
ter. He  died  January  23d,  1806. 

Political  Economy  :  The  science  which  treats  of  the  general  causes  affect- 
ing  the  production,  distribution,  and  consuni  plion  of  articles  of  ex- 


486  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

changeable  value,  in  reference  to  their  effects  upon  national  wealth  and 
welfare. 

Pollen  :  Tlie  fertilizing1  dust  of  flowers,  produced  by  the  stamens  and 
falling  upon  the  pistils  inorder  to  render  a  flower  capable  of  produc- 
ing fruit  or  seed. 

Potter's  clay :  The  clay  used  in  making  articles  of  pottery. 

Prairie  :  A  French  word,  signifying  meadow.  In  the  United  States,  it  is 
applied  to  the  remarkable  natural  meadows  or  plains  which  are  found 
in  the  Western  States.  In  some  of  these  vast  and  nearly  level  plains, 
the  traveler  may  wander  for  days  without  meeting  with  wood  or 
water,  and  see  no  object  rising  above  the  plane  of  the  horizon.  They 
are  very  fertile. 

Prime  Minister :  The  person  appointed  by  the  ruler  of  a  nation  to  have 
the  chief  direction  and  management  of  the  public  affairs. 

Process :  A  protuberance  or  projecting  part  of  a  bone. 

Pulmonary  :  Belonging  to  or  affecting  the  lungs.  Pulmonary  artery : 
An  artery  which  passes  through  the  lungs,  being  divided  into  several 
branches,  which  form  a  beautiful  network  over  the  air-vessels,  and 
finally  empty  themselves  into  the  left  auricle  of  the  heart. 

Puritans  :  A  sect  which  professed  to  follow  the  pure  word  of  God  in  op- 
position to  traditions,  human  constitutions,  and  other  authorities.  In 
the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  part  of  the  Protestants  were  desirous  of 
introducing  a  simpler,  and,  as  they  considered  it,  a  purer  form  of 
church  government  and  worship  than  that  established  by  law,  from 
which  circumstance  they  were  called  Puritans.  In  process  of  time, 
this  party  increased  in  numbers  and  openly  broke  off  from  the  church, 
laying  aside  the  English  liturgy,  and  adopting  a  service-book  published 
at  Geneva  by  the  disciples  of  Calvin.  They  were  treated  with  great 
rigor  by  the  government,  and  many  of  them  left  the  kingdom  and  set- 
tled in  Holland.  Finding  themselves  not  so  eligibly  situated  in  that 
country  as  they  had  expected  to  be,  a  portion  of  them  embarked  for 
America,  and  were  the  first  settlers  of  New-England. 

Quixotic :  Absurd,  romantic,  ridiculous ;  from  Don  Quixote,  the  hero  of  a 
celebrated  fictitious  work  written  by  Cervantes,  a  distinguished  Spanish 
writer,  and  intended  to  reform  the  tastes  and  opinions  of  his  country- 
men. 

Reeking :  Smoking,  emitting  vapor. 

Residuum :  The  remainder  or  part  which  remains. 

Routine  :  A  round  or  course  of  engagements,  business,  pleasure,  etc. 

To  Run  a  seam :  To  lay  the  two  edges  of  a  seam  together  and  pass  the 
threaded  needle  out  and  in,  with  small  stitches,  a  few  threads  below  the 
edge  and  on  a  line  with  it. 

To  Run  a  stocking :  To  pass  a  thread  of  yarn,  with  a  needle,  straight 
along  each  row  of  the  stocking,  as  far  as  is  desired,  taking  up  one  loop 


GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES.  487 

and  missing  two  or  three,  until  the  row  is  completed,  so  as  to  double 
the  thickness  at  the  part  which  is  run. 

Sabbatical  year  :  Every  seventh  year  among  the  Jews,  which  was  a  year 
of  rest  for  the  laud,  when  it  was  to  be  left  without  culture.  In  this 
Year,  all  debts  were  to  be  remitted,  and  slaves  set  at  liberty.  tSee  Ex 
odus  21:2;  23  : 10  ;  Leviticus  25  :  2,  3,  etc. ;  Deuteronomy  15  : 12  ;  and 
other  similar  passages. 

Saleratus :  See  Pearlash. 

Sal  ammoniac :  A  salt,  called  also  muriate  of  ammonia,  which  derives  its 
name  from  a  district  in  Libya,  Egypt,  where  there  was  a  temple  of  Ju- 
piter Ammon,  and  where  this  salt  was  found. 

Scotch  Highlanders  :  Inhabitants  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland 

Selvedge :  The  edge  of  cloth,  a  border.    Improperly  written  selvage. 

Service-book  :  A  book  prescribing  the  order  of  public  services  in  a  church 
or  congregation. 

Sharps :    See  Blunts. 

Shorts  :  The  coarser  part  of  wheat  bran. 

Shrubbery  :  A  plantation  of  shrubs. 

Siberia  :  A  large  country  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  Asia,  having 
the  Frozen  Ocean  on  the  north,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  east,  and 
forming  a  part  of  the  Russian  empire.  The  northern  part  is  extremely 
cold,  almost  uncultivated,  and  contains  but  few  inhabitants.  .It  fur- 
nishes fine  skins,  and  some  of  the  most  valuable  furs  in  the  world.  It 
also  contains  rich  mines  of  iron  and  copper,  and  several  kinds  of 
precious  stones. 

Sinclair,  Sir  John  :  Of  whom  it  was  said,  "  There  is  no  greater  name  in 
the  annals  of  agriculture  than  his,"  was  born  in  Caithness,  Scotland, 
May  10th,  1754,  and  became  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament  in  1780. 
He  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  measures  of  the  British  government 
toward  America,  which  produced  the  American  Revolution.  He  was 
author  of  many  valuable  publications  on  various  subjects.  He  died 
December  21st,  1835. 

Sirloin :  The  loin  of  beef.  The  appellation  "  sir  "  is  the  title  of  a  knight 
or  baronet,  and  has  been  added  to  the  word  "  loin,"  when  applied  to 
beef,  because  a  king  of  England,  in  a  freak  of  good  humor,  once  con- 
ferred the  honor  of  knighthood  upon  a  loin  of  beef. 

Slack  :  To  loosen,  to  relax,  to  deprive  of  cohesion. 

Soda  :  An  alkali,  usually  obtained  from  the  ashes  of  marine  plants. 

To  Spade  :  To  throw  out  earth  with  a  spade. 

Spermaceti :  An  oily  substance  found  in  the  head  of  a  species  of  whale 
called  the  spermaceti  whale. 

Spindling  :  Shooting  into  a  long,  small  stalk. 

Spinous  process  :  A  process  or  bony  protuberance,  resembling  a  spine  or 
thorn,  whence  it  derives  its  name. 


488  GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND  REFERENCES. 

Spool :  A  piece  of  cane  or  reed  or  a  hollow  cylinder  of  wood,  with  a  ridge 
at  each  end,  used  to  wind  yarn  and  thread  upon. 

Stamen,  (plural,  stamens  and  stamina  :)  In  weaving,  the  warp,  the  thread, 
any  thing  made  of  threads.  In  botany,  that  part  of  a  flower  on  which 
the  artificial  classification  is  founded,  consisting  of  the  filament  or  stalk, 
and  the  anther,  which  contains  the  pollen  or  fructifying  powder. 

Stigma,  (plural  stigmas  and  stigmata :)  The  summit  or  top  of  the  pistil  of 
a  flower. 

Style  or  Stile  :  The  part  of  the  pistil  hetween  the  germ  and  the  stigma. 

Sub-carbonate  :  An  imperfect  carbonate. 

Sulphates,  Sulphats,  Sulphites :  Salts  formed  by  the  combination  of  some 
base  with  sulphuric  acid,  as  Sulphate  of  copper,  (blue  vitriol  or  blue 
Btoue,)  a  combination  of  sulphuric  acid  with  copper.  Sulphate  of  iron  : 
Copperas  or  green  vitriol.  Sulphate  of  lime :  Gypsum  or  plaster  of 
Paris.  Sulphate  of  magnesia  :  Epsom  salts.  Sulphate  of  potash  :  A 
chemical  salt,  composed  of  sulphuric  acid  and  potash.  Sulphate  of  soda  : 
Glauber's  salts.  Sulphate  of  zinc  :  White  vitriol. 

SulpJiuret  :  A  combination  of  an  alkaline  earth  or  metal  With  sulphur, 
as  Sulphuret  of  iron,  a  combination  of  iron  and  sulphur. 

Sulphuric  acid  :   Oil  of  vitriol,  vitriolic  acid. 

Suture :  A  sewing ;  the  uniting  of  parts  by  stitching  ;  the  seam  01  joint 
which  unites  the  flat  bones  of  the  skull,  which  are  notched  like  the 
teeth  of  a  saw,  and  the  notches,  being  united  together,  present  the 
appearance  of  a  seam. 

Tartar:  A  substance,  deposited  on 'the  inside  of  wine  casks,  consisting 
chiefly  of  tartaric  acid  and  potass.  Cream  of  tartar  :  The  crude  tartar 
separated  from  all  its  impurities  by  being  dissolved  in  water  and  then 
crystallized,  when  it  becomes  a  perfectly  white  powder. 

Tartaric  acid  :  A  vegetable  acid  which  exists  in  the  grape. 

Technology :  A  description  of  the  arts,  considered  generally  in  their 
theory  and  practice  as  connected  with  moral,  political,  and  physical 
science. 

Three-ply  or  triple  ingrain  :  A  kind  of  carpeting,  in  which  the  threads 
are  woven  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  three  thicknesses  of  the  cloth. 

Tic  douloureux :  A  painful  affection  of  the  nerves,  mostly  those  of  the 
face. 

Tocquenille,  (Alexis  de :)  A  celebrated  statesman  and  writer  of  France, 
and  author  of  volumes  on  the  political  condition,  and  the  peniten- 
tiaries of  the  United  States,  and  other  works. 

Trachea  :  The  windpipe,  so  named  (from  a  Greek  word  signifying  rough) 
from  the  roughness  or  inequalities  of  the  cartilages  of  which  it  is 
formed, 

Truckle-bed  or  Trundle-bed:  A  bed  that  runs  on  wheels. 

Tuber  :  A  solid,  fleshy,  roundish  root,  like  the  potato.  Tuberous :  Thick 
and  fleshy ;  composed  of  or  having  tubers. 


GLOSSARY  OF  WORDS  AND   REFERENCES.  489 

Tucks,  (improperly  Tacks} :  Folds  in  garments. 

Turmeric :  The  root  of  a  plant  called  Curcuma  longa,  a  native  of  th%  East. 
Indies,  used  as  a  yellow  dye. 

Twaddle :  Idle,  foolish  talk  or  conversation. 

Unbolted:  Unsifted. 

Unslacked :  Not  loosened  or  deprived  of  cohesion.  Lime,  when  it  has 
been  slacked,  crumbles  to  powder  from  being  deprived  of  cohesion. 

Valance  :  The  drapery  or  fringe  hanging  round  the  cover  of  a  bed,  couch, 
or  other  similar  article. 

Vascular :  Relating  to  or  full  of  vessels. 

Venetian :  A  kind  of  carpeting,  composed  of  a  striped  woolen  warp  on  a 
thick  woof  of  linen  thread, 

Verisimilitude :  Probability,  resemblance  to  truth. 

Verbatim :  Word  for  word. 

Vice  versa:  The  side  being  changed,  or  the  question  reversed,  or  the 

.  terms  being  exchanged. 

Viscera,  (plural  of  viscus :)  Organs  contained  in  the  great  cavities  of  the 
body,  the  skull,  the  abdomen,  and  the  chest.  Generally  applied  to  the 
contents  of  the  abdomen. 

Vitriol :  A  compound  mineral  salt  of  a  very  caustic  taste.  Blue  Vitriol, 
sulphate  of  copper.  Green  Vitriol,  see  Copperas.  OH  of  Viti*iol,  sul- 
phuric acid.  White  Vitriol,  sulphate  of  zinc. 

Waffle-iron :  An  iron  utensil  for  the  purpose  of  baking  waffles,  which  are 
thin  and  soft  cakes  indented  by  the  iron  in  which  they  are  baked. 

Wash-leather  :  A  soft,  pliable  leather  dressed  with  oil,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  it  may  be  washed  without  shrinking.  It  is  used  for  various  arti- 
cles of  dress,  as  undershirts,  drawers,  etc.,  and  also  for  rubbing  sil- 
ver, and  other  articles  having  a  high  polish.  The  article  known  in 
commerce  as  chamois  or  shammy  leather  is  also  called  wash-leather. 

Welting-cord :  A  cord  sewed  into  the  welt  or  border  of  a  garment. 

The  West  or  Western  World.  When  used  in  Europe,  or  in  distinction 
from  the  Eastern  World,  it  means  America.  When  used  in  this  coun- 
try, the  West  refers  to  the  Western  States  of  the  Union.  Western 
Wilds :  The  wild,  thinly-settled  lands  of  the  Western  States. 

White  vitriol :   see  Zinc. 

Wilton  carpet :  A  kind  of  carpets  made  in  England,  and  so  called  from 
the  place  which  is  the  chief  seat  of  their  manufacture.  They  are  wool- 
en velvets  with  variegated  colors. 

Writ  of  lunacy.     See  Lunacy. 

Xantippe :  The  wife  of  Socrates,  noted  for  her  violent  temper  and  scolding 
propensities.  The  name  is  frequently  applied  to  a  shrew,  or  peevish 

'  turbulent,  scolding  woman. 

Zinc :  A  bluish  white  metal,  which  is  used  as  a  constituent  of  brass  and 
some  other  alloys.  Sulphate  of  Zinc  or  Wlrite  vitriol :  A  combination 
of  zinc  with  sulphuric  acid. 


INDEX: 

ANALYTICAL    AND    ALPHABETICAL. 


Absorbents  of  the  skin,  151. 

Accidents  and  antidotes,  348-352. 

Accounts,  239. 

Acids,  350,  351. 

Air,  evils  of  the  want  of  pure,  42, 

49-58.        Exercise    in    the,    24. 

Change  of,  for  infants,  270.     Of 

sick-rooms,  339.      See  Ventilation. 
Albany  Orphan  Asylum,  275. 
Alcholic  drinks,  138-142.    See  Stim- 
ulating. 
America,   anticipations  as  to,  210. 

Conspicuous     station     of,     211. 

Labor  in,  211.     Domestic  labor 

in,  307-314,  333,  334. 
American   women,   their    equality, 

316.        Too  little  exercise,  314. 

Precedence    given    to,    by    the 

other  sex,  201.       Must   become 

instructors  to  their  servants,  314. 
Amusements,  287-302. 
Anger,  on  silence  in,  215, 216.     See 

Temper  and  Tones. 
Animal     food,   124, 131,  136.      For 

young  children,  276.     See  Food. 
Animals,  393-402. 
Anthracite  coal,  82. 
Ants,  red  and  black,  377. 
Anxiety,  a  countenance  of,  213. 
Appetite  of   the    sick   not    to    be 

tempted,  339. 

Appetites,  gratification  of  the,  223. 
Apple-trees,  preserving  from  insects, 

392. 
Apportionment  of  time,  222,225,247. 

By  regular  division  of  work,  226. 

Jewish,  210. 


Argand  burners,  362. 

Aristocracy,  English,  249  The 
prejudice  of,  as  to  labor,  191. 
Courtesy  of.  limited,.  ^00.  Man- 
ners of  democracy  and,  200. 
Dornesjtics  of,  321. 

Arm,  muscles  of  the,  113,  114. 

Arsenic,  poisoning  from,  350. 

Arteries,  tying  up,  348 

Associated  charities,  243,  244. 


Baglivi,  on   health   during   Lent, 

132. 

Balls,  290. 
Baskets,  375.  Hanging,  for  flowers, 

95,  96. 

Bath,  on  using  the,  156. 
Bathing    iniants,    269,    270.       See 

Washing. 

Bathing-rooms,  86,  446. 
Beaumont,  Dr.,  experiments  by,  on 

the    digestibility    of    food,    136, 

note. 

Beauty  in  the  house,  84-103. 
Bed-bugs,  377. 
Bedrooms,  care  of,  369,  370. 
Beds  and  bedding,  30,  31,  359.     On 

making,  370. 
Bees,  401. 

Benevolence,  233-235.  Sf,6  Charity. 
Bituminous  coal,  361. 
Black  ants,  377. 
Bleeding  at  the  lungs,  stomach,  OT 

throat,  351. 

Blindness,  guarding  against,  269 
Blisters,  on  ujvssiing,  o4l. 


492 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


Blood,  details  as  to  the  circulation 
of  the,  106,  107.  Effect  of  day- 
light on  the,  193  ;  of  exercise,  115. 
Crowded  to  the  brain  when  one 
is  excited,  111.  When  a  cause 
of  mental  disease,  256,  257.  Stop- 
ping, 348,  351.  When  dancing, 
290.  See  Circulation. 

Blood-vessels,  44-46,  107. 

Breakfast-tea,  188. 

Body,  change  'and  renovation  of 
the,  121, 122.  Connection  of  mind 
and,  255.  See  Mind. 

Boldness  in  domestics,  330. 

Bones,  described,  158-159. 

Bowels,  335-338,  note. 

Bowls  and  vases  for  growing 
plants,  99. 

Boys,  small,  made  useful,  228.  Do- 
mestic arts  taught  to,  229.  See 
Children. 

Brain,  108.  Excitement  of  the,  255. 
Over-action  of  the,  258. 

Bread,  170.  Aerating,  -171-173. 
Mixing,  174.  Baking,  175. 

Breakfast,  late,  195. 

Broadcloths,  cutting,  358. 

Broken  limbs,  349. 

Bruises,  348 

Budding,  hints  on,  385. 

Bulbs,  384. 

Burne,  Dr.,  cited,  336. 

Burns,  treatment  of,  349. 

Butler,  Fanny  Kemble,  on  theatres, 
291. 

Butter,  176.  Bad,  in  America,  177. 
How  to  make  good,  178. 

Buttonholes,  353. 

Byron,  Lord,  260. 


C 


Cakes,  keeping  till  meal-time,  276. 

Candles,  362.     To  make,  365. 

(Japs  for  infants  forbidden,  269.    • 

Card-playing,  291. 

Castle-building,  259. 

Caterpillars,  392. 

Cathartics,  336,  338. 

Catholics,  health  of,  during  Lent, 
132.  Good  works  of,  450,  458. 

Cellars,  vegetables  in  dark,  192. 
On  the  care  of,  376.  Ventilation 
of,  in  model  cottage,  427. 

Cell-life,  105-107. 

Chambers,  care  o",   369.    Couches 


for,  30,  31.  Furniture  for,  36. 
Ventilation  of,  in  model  cottage, 
427.  In  city  house,  441-446. 

Character,  dependence  of  happiness 
on,  234,  235.  Self-deny  ing' bene- 
volence of  Christ's,  234. 

Charcoal,  361. 

Charity,  Sisters  of,  346. 

Charity,  118.  On  giving  in,  232- 
246.  Difficulty  respecting,  233. 
General  principles  respecting, 
235.  Objects  for  receiving,  242. 
For  souls  of  men,  242,  243.  By 
furnishing  the  poor  with  means 
of  earning  support,  243.  Associa- 
tions for,  244.  Indiscriminate  be- 
stowal of,  244.  Benefit  of  districts 
in  distributing,  245.  On  j  udging 
of  other  people's,  246. 

Children,  washing,  157.  Living  in 
the  dark,  192.  Early  retiring 
and  rising  of,  195.  Cultivation  of 
good  manners  in,  202.  Too  great 
familiarity  with,  204,  279.  Should 
acknowledge  acts  of  kindness, 
205  ;  ask  leave  to  iise  others'  arti- 
cles, 205  ;  avoid  wounding  others' 
feelings,  205,  283  ;  to  be  taught 
to  keep  silence,  207  ;  do  not  sur- 
round with  too  many  rules,  282. 
On  making  allowances  for,  285. 
Waiting  on,  228.  On  making 
usei'ul,  229,  230.  On  paying,  for 
services,  229,  283.  On  giving 
youn  ger,  to  ol  der,  230.  Precocity 
in,  258.  Eating  too  often,  276. 
To  be  guarded  as  to  dishonesty, 
deceit,  impurity,  and  running  in 
debt,  285.  Sharing  fruits  and 
flowers,  295.  See  Boys,  Girls,  and 
Young  children. 

Chinese,  regard  for  old  age,  306. 
Preservation  of  fertilizing  matter, 
403. 

Chimneys,  smoky,  76,  79. 

Chocolate,  189. 

Christianity,  principles  of,  identical 
with  democratic,  200,  201. 

Chromos,  91. 

Churches,  ill-ventilated,  55. 

Circulation,  in  the  skin  of  infants, 
165,  166.  Effect  of  cold  on,  113. 
In  the  aged,  166,  305.  See  Blood. 

Clarke,  Dr.,  on  animal  diet  for  very 
young  children,  275. 

(  leanliness,  151,  157.  Of  the  sick, 
339. 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


493 


Closets,  of  conveniences,  227.  Slid- 
ing, 444.  Earth,  403-418. 

Clothing  and  clothes,  159-106.  De- 
ficiency of,  for  infants,  2ii9.  Rule 
as  to  quantity  of,  165,  166.  /See 
Dress,  and  Tight  dressing. 

Coal,  361. 

Cockroaches,  377. 

Coffee.     See  Tea. 

Cold,  on  exposure  to,  165,  166. 

Cold  and  hot,  food,  135.  Drinks 
145. 

Collecting  of  specimens,  297. 

Colleges,  physicians  in,  258. 

Colors  for  different  complexions, 
356. 

Combe,  Andrew,  on  drinks,  145, 
146.  On  exercising  the  brain, 
259.  On  infants,  265-268.  On 
the  bowels,  336. 

Complexions,  colors  for  the  diffe- 
rent, 356. 

Condiments  in  food,  133,  190. 

Confectionery,  189. 

Conservatories,  41. 

Constipation,  337,  note. 

Conveniences,  on  providing,  228. 
For  cooking,  373.  For  the  sick 
room,  339.  Close  packing  of, 
Chap.  II. 

Cooking,  167-190. 

Cowper,  quoted,  460. 

Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  cited,  255. 

Corrosive  sublimate,poisoning  from, 
350. 

Corsets,  164. 

Couches,  cheap,  30,  31. 

Courtesy,  want  of,  197 ;  causes  of  it, 
198.  See  Democracy. 

Cows,  to  take  care  of,  397. 

Creeping  of  infants,  271. 

Cribs  for  infants,  269. 

Crickets,  377. 

Crockery  for  the  kitchen,  373. 

Cruelty  in  amusements,  287. 

Crying  of  infants,  271, 

Curculios,  392. 

Currants,  390. 

Curtains,  88,  367. 

Curvature.     See,  Spine. 

Cuts,  remedies  for,  348. 

Cutting  and  sewing,  353-358. 


Dancing,  288-290. 

Daughters,  as  domestic  assistants, 


309.  Educated  to  domestic  work, 
314.  See  Girls. 

Day,  on  converting  into  night,  191. 
Influence  of,  on  vegetables  and 
blood,  193. 

Debt,  on  running  into,  285. 

Decoration,  home,  84-103. 

Democracy  of  early  rising,  191. 
Principles  of,  identical  with  Chris- 
tian, 200.  Tendencies  of,  as  to  the 
female  sex,  201.  Courtesy  of  man- 
ners and,  209,  210. 

Derangement  from  over-excite- 
ment, 257. 

Diet.     See  Food. 

Digestion,  organs  of,  128.  Details 
respecting,  133-135.  Articles 
easiest  for,  133.  Experiments 
respecting,  136.  Bulk  of  food 
necessary  to,  136. 

Dirt  not  healthy,  157. 

Dish-cloths,  372. 

Dishes,  on  washing,  372,  373, 

Dolls,  benefits  from,  298. 

Domestic  amusements,  287-300. 

Domestic  exercise,  113-118. 

Domestic  economy,  indispensable 
part  of  education,  14. 

Domestic  duties,  dignity  of,    220. 

Domestic  servants,  peculiar  difficul- 
ties as  to,  in  America,  313.  On 
making  allowances  for.  $27-330. 
Care  of,  307-334.  Of  aristocratic 
lands,  321.  Placing  ourselves  in 
their  situation,  327.  Exorbitant 
wages  of,  326.  Instability  and 
discontent  of,  and  the  remedy, 
329.  Pride  and  insubordination 
of,  and  the  remedy,  330.  Bold 
and  forward,  330.  Dress  and 
rooms  of,  323.  Finding  fault 
with,  331.  Beds  for,  370. 

Domestic  service,  cause  of  its  being 
avoided  by  American  girls,  322. 

Dress,  too  much  attention  to,  231. 
Of  domestics,  323,  330.  See 
Clothing. 

Drinks,  on  healthful,  138-149. 

Drowning,  349. 

Dumb-waiters,  446. 

Dusting,  369. 


E 


Early  rising,  191-196.  Democratic, 
191.  Reasons  for,  193.  Longevi- 
ty and,  195.  Effects  of,  on  a  fami- 


494 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


ly,  195  ;  on  the  community,  196  ; 
on  systematic  duty,  231. 

Earth-closets,  403-418. 

Earthen-ware,  373. 

Eating,  intemperance  in,  127.  Too 
fast,  134.  Should  not  be  follow- 
ed by  exercise,  134.  See  Food. 

Economy,  valuable  only  for  com- 
fort, 214. 

Education  in  America,  211. 

Employment  for  the  different  divi- 
sions of  a  week,  226,  227.  On 
regular,  for  all  the  family,  228. 

Enjoyments.  See  Amusements  and 
Happiness. 

Equality.  See  Democracy,  Sexes, 
and  Women. 

Establishments,  expensive,  given 
up,  242. 

Exercise,  112-118.  Neglect  of,  287. 
Indispensable  to  the  health  of 
the  several  parts  of  the  human 
frame,  116,  117.  Of  the  muscles, 
113-115.  Food  to  be  graduated 
by,  130.  After  eating," bad,  134. 
Evils  of  want  of,  116.  On  fur- 
nishing interesting,  117.  Walk- 
ing for,  117.  On  excessive,  of  the 
mind  and  feelings,  256-258.  Too 
little,  of  intellect  and  feeling,  259. 

Expenses,  on  keeping  account  of, 
239. 

Eyes,  screening,  from  light,  365. 
Of  infants',  269. 


F 


Family,  on  early  rising  in  the,  195. 
Fathers  neglecting  the,  300.  On 
attachments  of,  300. 

Fasting  in  sickness,  336. 

Fault-finding,  331. 

Feather  beds,  370. 

Feelings,  inactivity  of  the,  259. 

Feet,  on  protecting  the,  166.  Keep- 
ing those  of  infants  warm,  269. 

Figs,  390. 

Filberts,  390. 

Finger-nails,  206. 

Fire,  escaping  from,  352.    f 

Fire-places  and  fires,  360,  361, 
368. 

Fishing,  287. 

Fleas,  377. 

Flies,  on  destroying,  377. 

Flower-baskets,  98. 


Flower  seeds,  on  planting,  380. 

Fluids,  on  taking,  136. 

Food,  on  the  conversion  of,  into 
nourishment,  125.  Responsibili- 
ty as  to,  in  a  family,  119.  Pro- 
portion of  nutritive  elements  in, 
124.  On  taking  too  much,  125, 
126.  On  one  kind  of,  for  each 
meal;  133.  Quantity  of,  to  be 
graduated  by  exercise,  130.  On 
the  quality  of,  132.  Stimulating, 

133.  Animal  and  vegetable,  131, 
132.     Kinds  of,  most  easily  di- 
gested, 133.     Injurious,  from  bad 
cooking,  133.     On  eating,  too  fast, 

134.  On  exercise,  after  taking, 
134.    On  hot  and  cold,  135.    High- 
ly   concentrated,    136.      Certain 
bulk  of,  necessary  to  digestion, 
136.  For  infants,  266.  For  nurses, 
267.      Sickness    from    improper, 
337.      Preparing,   for    the    sick, 
341. 

Foreigners,  employed  as  domestics. 

320. 

Forewarning  domestics,  331. 
Forwardness  of  domestics,  330. 
Frocks,  to  make,  355. 
Fruit,  on  the   cultivation  of,   294, 

389. 

Fuel,  hints  as  to,  360. 
Furnaces,  79-83,  420. 


G 


Games  of  children,  297. 

Garden  seeds,  to  plant,  333. 

Gardening,  381. 

Gardens,  on  laying  out,  382. 

Gas,  362. 

Gastric  juice,  126. 

Gathering,  in  shirts,  354. 

Girls,  small,  made  useful,  230, 
Forming  habits  of  system,  232. 
See  Daughters. 

Gooseberries,  390. 

Government  of  children,  278.  Un- 
steadiness in,  and  over-govern- 
ment, 281.  Maxims  on,  282,  283. 
See  Children,  Subordination,  and 
Young  children. 

Grafting,  386,  387. 

Grapes,  391. 

Grates,  361. 

Gratifications,  on  physical,  226,  237 

Grease  in  marble,  068. 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


495 


Habit,  of  system  and  order,  220- 
232.  In  infants,  271.  Of  the 
bowels,  338. 

Handkerchiefs,  cleansing,  298. 

Happiness,  dependence  of,  on  cha- 
racter, 234.  On  living  to  make, 
235.  Connected  with  duties,  247, 
248. 

Health,  connection  of  exercise  and, 
116  ;  of  the  quantity  of  food  and, 
130  ;  of  the  quality,  117.  Of  Ca- 
,  tholics  during  Lent,  132.  Not 
from  dirt,  157.  Effect  of  early 
rising  on,  192.  On  the  duty  of 
sacrificing,  224.  Causes  which 
injure  the  mind's,  255.  Amuse- 
ments and,  287.  Laughter  and, 
297.  Ventilation  and,  50-55.  Con- 
nection of,  with  cellars,  376.  See 
Air,  Exercise,  and  Sickness. 

Hearths,  368. 

Heart,  46. 

Help,  see  Domestics. 

Horse-racing,  289. 

Horses,  care  of,  396,  397. 

Hospitality,  on  manifesting,  301, 
302. 

Hot  and  cold  food  and  drinks,  135, 
145. 

Hot-beds,  379. 

Housekeepers,  preservation  of  good 
temper  in,  212-219.  Allowances 
to  be  made  for,  213.  General 
principles  for,  214-216.  See 
American  women. 

Housekeeping,  dignity  and  difficul- 
ty of,  212.  See  Labor. 

House-plants,  to  repot,  381. 

Houses,  on  the  construction  of,  23- 
42,  441-446. 

Hunger,  126.  As  a  guide  for  tak- 
ing food,  130. 

Hunting,  287. 


Imaorination,  199.  Works  of,  259, 
2i)3.  See  Novel-reading. 

Impostors,  soliciting  charity,  244. 

Impurity  of  thought,  285,  286. 

Indigestion,  133-137.     See  Health. 

Infants,  mortality  among,  266.  On 
giving  to  the  older  children,  228. 
Use  of,  to  elicit  charity,  244.  Ig- 
norance of  parents  concerning, 


263,  264.  Importance  of  know- 
ing how  to  take  care  of,  265. 
Combe,  Bell,  and  Eberle  on,  cited, 
265-268.  Food  for,  268.  Medi- 
cines for,  267.  Pure  air  for,  268. 
Keeping  warm,  269.  Keeping 
their  heads  cool,  269.  Bathing, 

270.  To  creep,  271.    Habits,  271. 
Teething,    272,    273.     Constipa- 
tion, 273.      Diarrhea,  274.     Use 
of  water  in  fever,  274.     Crying, 

271.  See  Children  and  Mortali- 
ty- 
Ingrafting,  386. 

Insects,  on  destroying,  377.  Pre- 
serving tree's  from,  392.  Pre- 
serving domestic  animals  from, 
395.  , 

Intemperance,  in  eating,  127.  In 
drinking,  138.  Woman's  respon- 
sibility as  to,  149. 

Ignorance,  of  architects,  62,  63.  Of 
parents  concerning  infants,  263- 
265.  Of  young  girls  concerning 
dangers  of  wrong  dressing,  158. 
Of  domestic  servants  in  America, 
320,  321. 

Iron- ware,  373. 


Jewish  use  of  time,  249. 
Jokes,  297. 


Kernel  of  wheat,  constituent  parts 

of,  122. 

Kerosene,  363. 
Kidneys,  154. 
Kitchens,  35,  371-375.      On  taking 

care  of,  371.     Oil-cloths  for,  371. 

Furniture  for,  374 


Labeling  powders,  342. 

Labor,  nobility  of,  19, 21, 23.  Out- 
door, 52.  Domestic,  323-327. 

Lanibrequims,  88, 89. 

Lamps,  363*    Care  of,  364 

Laughter,  297. 

Laundry,  39-41.  Neighborhood, 
334.  In  city  house,  446. 

Lent,  health  during,  132. 

Lewis  Leeds,  on  ventilation.  424- 
426,423. 


496 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


Life,  object  of,  235. 

Light,  effects  of,  192, 193.  Screen- 
ing eyes  from,  269,  362. 

Lightning.  351. 

Lightning-rods,  352. 

Lights,  360. 

Linens,  356. 

Liquids,  on  taking,  136. 

Literature,  guarding,  293. 

Longevity,  Sinclair  on,  195. 

Louis  XIV.,  manners  of  his  age, 
211. 

Lungs,  44.  Effects  of  tight-dress- 
ing on  the,  161.  Bleeding  at  the, 
351. 

Luxuries.     See  Superfluities. 


M 


Mahogany  furniture,  368. 

Manners,  good,  197.  American  de- 
fect in,  and  cause  of  it,  198.  Of 
the  Puritans  and  their  posterity, 
199.  Principles  respecting,  200. 
Proprieties  in,  201.  On  cultiva- 
tion of,  202.  Leading  points  as 
to,  claiming  attention,  204.  Chil- 
dren to  be  taught,  205.  On  con- 
ventional, 206.  At  table,  207. 
Charity  for  bad,  209.  Of  the  age 
of  Louis  XIV,  211.  See  Chil- 
dren. 

Manual  labor  of  Christ,  18,  19. 

Marble,  stains  on,  368. 

Mattresses,  31,370. 

Meals,  should  be  five  hours  apart, 
129.  Time  of  English,  191,  192. 

Meat,  on  eating,  132.  Butcher- 
ing and  trimming,  178.  Waste 
of,  in  America,  179.  French 
economy  in,  180.  Cooking,  181- 
185. 

Mechanical  amusements,  298. 

Medical  men  needed  in  literary  in- 
stitutions, 258. 

Medicines,  on  giving  to  infants,  266. 
On  administering,  336. '  Different 
effects  of  different,  338,  340.  La- 
beling, 342. 

Men  engaged  in  women's  work, 
229. 

Mending,  358. 

Mental  excitement,  effect  of,  on 
health,  256-258.  On  reducing 
youthful,  258.  Effect  of,  on  the 
mind,  257  See  Mind. 

Mexicans,  teeth  of,  145. 


Microscopic  wonders  in  animal  and 
vegetable  cells,  105.  In  muscu- 
lar fibre,  113.  In  zymotic  dis- 
eases, 421.  In  alcoholic  effects 
on  the  brain,  140. 

Milk,  mothers',  for  infants,  266. 

Milkweed-silk,  280. 

Mind,  connection  of  body  and,  255. 
Causes  which  injure  the  health 
of  the,  255-260.  On  inactivity  of. 
259.  Indications  of  diseased,  261. 
Wholesome  occupation  for,  260, 
261.  See  Health  and  Mental  ex 
citement. 

Mineralogical  collections,  297. 

Missions,  453. 

Modesty  in  children,  285. 

Moisture  in  heatdd  rooms,  79-81, 
425. 

Money,  children's  earning.  229. 

Morals  in  children,  286.  See  Chil- 
dren and  Young  children. 

Mortality  among  infants,  266. 
Causes  of  it,  267.  At  the  Albany 
Orphan  Asylujn,  275.  See  In- 
fants. 

Mothers,  should  regulate  daughters' 
dress,  165.  Few  qualified  to  train 
children,  264.  Influence  of,  212- 
214.  Teaching  boys  domestic 
arts,  229.  See  American  women 
and  Women. 

Movable  screen,  28,  29. 

Mucous  membrane,  123. 

Muscles,  113,  114.  Exercise  of  the, 
116, 117, 258.  Excessive  exercise 
of,  117. 

Music,  296. 

Mosquitoes,  377. 


N 


Nails,  cleaning,  207. 

Nash,  Beau,  biography  of,  £11. 

Neatness,  in  housekeeping,  215.  Of 
sick-rooms,  340,  341.  See  Clean- 
liness. 

Needle- work,  bad  economy  in,  354. 

Neftel,  Dr.  William,  on  the  use  of 
water  in  fevers,  274. 

Nerves,  107-110.  Ramification  of 
the,  110.  Health  of,  dependent 
on  muscular  exercise,  111.  Ex- 
cited by  stimulating  drinks,  138. 
Exercise  and  inactivity  of,  111. 
Debility  of,  112. 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


497 


New-Englanders,  one  cause  of  their 
tact,  229.  Early  condition  of 
home  labor  among,  308  -  810. 
Present  condition  of  domestic  ser- 
vice among,  811-813. 

Night,  converting,  into  day,  191. 

Night-gowns,  358. 

Night-lamps,  365. 

Novel-reading,  292,  293. 

Nursery,  278,  279. 

Nursery,  soil  for  a,  379. 

Nursing,  on  food  while,  267.  Of 
the  sick,  342-347. 


Obedience  of  children,  279.  See 
Children  and  Government. 

Objects  of  charity,  242. 

Oils,  362-364. 

Oil-cloths  for  kitchens^  371. 

Open  fire-places,  419. 

Opium,  antidote  for,  351. 

Order,  on  a  habit  of,  220-232. 

Ornaments,  225. 

Orphan  Asylum  at  Albany,  274. 

Over-government,  281.  See  Chil- 
dren and  Government. 


Packing  of  conveniences,  25, 441. 

Pain,  amusements  causing,  287. 

Pancreas,  154. 

Parents,  exercising  of  authority  by, 
280.  Managing  children,  275- 
286.  Ignorance  of,  263.  Should 
provide  amusements,  293.  Join- 
ing in  children's  sports,  300. 

Parlors,  367  368.  How  to  furnish, 
85-91.  On  the  care  of,  368. 
Sweeping,  369. 

Passions,  the,  112.    See  Temper. 

Pelvic  organs  displaced  by  tight- 
dressing,  162. 

Peristaltic  motion,  128. 

Perspiration,  152,  154.  As  a  cure 
for  illness,  338. 

Physical  education  of  children, 
275.  See  Exercise  and  Health. 

Physicians,  obeying,  341. 

Piano,  playing  on  the,  296. 

Pictures,  91,  93.  Hanging  and 
cleansing,  367. 

Pills,  338. 

Plans,  for  apportioning  time,  226. 
For  duties,  226,  228.  For  model 


cottage,  25-42.  For  Christian 
city  tenement,  441-446.  For 
church,  school-house,  and  family, 
dwelling  in  one  building,  455- 
458. 

Planting,  flower-seeds,  380.  Gar- 
den-seeds,  381. 

Plants,  collecting,  295,  296.  Soil 
for,  379.  Propagation  of,  384. 
See  Flowers  and  Seeds. 

Poisoning,  350,  351.  Household, 
43. 

Politeness.  See  Courtesy  and  Man- 
ners. 

Poor,  Mosaic  laws  as  to  the,  249. 
On  work  for  the,  243.  See  Cha- 
rity. 

Pores.    See  Skin. 

Positions,  effects  of,  160. 

Potato,  185,  186. 

Pot-plants,  soil  for,  331. 

Pots,  transplanting  from,  381. 

Poultry,  400. 

Powders,  labeling,  342. 

Precocity  in  children,  258. 

Preservation  of  the  aged,  303. 

Propagation  of  plants,  34. 

Propensities,  236. 

Property,  Jews'  use  of,  249.  Un- 
equal distribution  of,  251.  On 
sharing,  252.  On  using,  proper- 
ly, 253,  254. 

Pruning,  387,  388. 

Punctuality  and  want  of  it,  196. 

Puritans,  manners  of  the,  197. 


Quality  of  food,  132, 133. 
Quantity  of  food,  130.    See  Food, 


R 


Rats,  378. 

Reciprocal  action  of 'plants  and  ani- 
mals, 48,  49. 

Red  ants,  377. 

Regular  employment  for  members 
of  a  family,  228. 

Religion,  perversion  of,  258. 

Religious  excitement,  259.   • 

Respect,  American  want  of,  202. 
Should  be  required  at  home,  204 
See  Courtesy. 

Respiration,  organs  of,  44. 

Rewards,  governing  by,  282. 


498 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


Roman  Catholics,  health  of,  during 

Lent,  132.    Nuns,  458. 
Rooms,  care  of,  368. 
Rose-bushes,  386. 
Running  into  debt,  366,  378. 


S 


St.  Martin,  Alexis,  experiments  on, 
respecting  food,  136. 

Salt,  for  bleeding,  351. 

Salts,  338. 

School,  on  sending  young  children 
to,  277. 

School-rooms  and  school-houses  not 
ventilated,  276. 

Scolds,  216,  217. 

Screens,  movable,  28,  29,  456.  See 
Eyes. 

Secret  vice,  286. 

Secreting  organs,  153,  154. 

Seeds,  on  planting,  380,  381.  Of 
fruit,  on  planting,  389. 

Self-denial,  happiness  of,  235.  Dis- 
tinction as  to,  235.  In  children, 
277,  284. 

Servants,  306,  334. 

Services,  paying  children  for,  229. 

Sewing,  by  girls,  298.  Hints  on, 
353-358. 

Sewing-trunks,  227. 

Sexes,  American,  201. 

Sheep,  399. 

Shells,  collecting,  297. 

Shirts,  making,  357. 

Sickness,  on  ignorance  and  inex- 
perience in  time  of,  336.  On 
nursing  in,  342,  347.  From  chills 
and  food,  336.  Remedies  for 
slight,  338.  See  Health. 

Sick-rooms,  hints  on,  339.  Furni- 
ture for,  340. 

Silence,  children  to  keep,  207,  283. 
When  in  anger,  216. 

Sinclair,  Sir  John,  on  longevity  and 
early  rising,  195. 

Sinks,  35,  36. 

Sisters  of  Charity,  346. 

Skin,  described,  150.  Function  of 
the,  151.  Waste  matter  from  the, 
152.  Absorbent  vessels  of  the, 
151.  Circulation  in  the,  in  in- 
fants, 165.  Effect  of  cold  on  the 
circulation  in  the,  166.  Bathino- 
infants,  270. 

Sleep,  amount  of,  required,  194.  On 


protracting,  194.     See   Ventila, 
tion. 

Smoky  chimneys,  76,  78. 
Snow,  bathing  in,  166. 
Soda  or  Saleratus  poisoning,  350. 
Soil,  on  the  preparation  of,  379. 
Soups,  183, 184. 
Specimens,  collecting,  297. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  on  training  of 

children,  262,  263. 
Spine,  disease  of  the,  160.    Curva- 
ture of  the,  160. 

Sprains,  349. 

Stain-mixture,  369. 

Stains,  removing,  from  marble, 
369. 

Starch,  to  make,  291.  To  prepare, 
292. 

Starvation  for  want  of  oxygen,  48 

State  charities  of  Massachusetts, 
434. 

Statuettes,  94. 

Stimulating  drinks,  138,  144.  Ex- 
cite the  nervous  system,  138.  De- 
bilitate the  constitution,  138. 
Temptation  from  using,  139. 
Reasons  for  and  against  using, 
considered,  139,  140.  Authori- 
ties on,  141,  142. 

Stimulating  food,  133.  See  Animal 
food  and  Food. 

Stock-grafting,  387. 

Stomach,  128  Peristaltic  motion 
of  the,  128.  Effects  on,  of  too 
much  food,  129.  Rule  for  the  la- 
bor and  repose  of  the,  129,  134. 
Power  of  accommodation  in  the, 
134. 

Store-rooms,  376. 

Stoves,  66-79. 

Stove-pipes,  361. 

Strangers,  hospitality  to,  301,  302. 

Strawberries,  155. 

Straw  matting,  86,  93. 

Strychnia,  antidote  for,  351. 

Subordination,  social,  199.  Of  chil- 
dren and  others,  201,  202.  See 
Government. 

Sunlight,  importance  of,  to  human 
life,  193,  194. 

Superfluities,     237.  »Duty    as    to. 
238. 
iveepi 

Swine, 

Sympathy,  on  silent  social,  213. 

System,  continual  change  and  re- 
novation of  the  human,  122.  On 


ANA  L  YTJCAL    INDEX. 


499 


habits  of,  220-232.  By  dividing 
the  week,  22G.  In  proper  conve- 
niences, 227.  On  attempting  too 
much,  at  once,  230.  On  com- 
mencing, while  young,  232. 


Table,  manners,  206,  207. 

Taste  for  solid  reading,  294. 

Tea,  coffee  and,  on  the  use  of,  143, 
144.  Cause  nervous  debility,  144. 
Love  of,  not  natural,  144.  No 
nourishment  in,  144.  Should  not 
be  drank  hot,  145.  How  to  make 
properly,  187-189.  See  Stimulat- 
ing. 

Teachers,  257. 

Teeth,  effects  of  hot  drinks  on,  145. 
Care  of,  273. 

Teething  of  infants,  271. 

Temper,  on  the  preservation  of 
good,  in  a  housekeeper,  212-219. 
See  Passions. 

Temptations,  amusements  with, 
286,  287. 

Tests  of  good  kerosene,  363,  364 

Tendons,  114. 

Theatres,  288,  291. 

Thinning  plants,  388. 

Thoughts,  on  pure,  286. 

Thunder-storms,  352. 

Tight  dressing,  160-165. 

Time,  on  apportioning,  222,  226, 
227.  On  saving,  247,  248.  Errors 
as  to  employing,  249.  Devoted 
by  Jews  to  religion,  249, 250. 

Tin-ware,  374. 

Tocqueville,  M.  De,  on  aristocratic 
and  democratic  manners,  209, 
210. 

Tones  of  voice,  212.  On  governing 
the,  216.  Governing  by  angry, 
217.  Effects  of  angry,  on  chil- 
dren, 283. 

Tracts  or  books,  and  charity,  245. 

Transplanting,  381,  382,  389. 

Trees,  on  transplanting,  382.  Prun- 
ing and  thinning,  387,  388. 

Trials.    See  Difficulties. 

Trunks,  sewing,  227. 

Turkeys,  400. 


Unbolted  flour,  135-137. 
Use  of  water  in  fevers,  274. 


Vegetable  food,  124,  128.  See  Ani- 
mal  food  and  Food. 

Vegetables,  effect  of  light  and  dark- 
ness on,  192.  Cooking,  185-187 

Ventilation,  importance  of,  Chapa 
III.  and  IV.  Statistics  of,  423. 
Of  sleeping-rooms,  426.  Of  school- 
rooms, 255,  256,  456.  Of  sick, 
rooms,  339.  Leeds's  mode  of,  419- 
432.  See  Air. 

Vermin,  on  destroying,  377. 

Vertebra,  160. 

Virtue.    See  Morals. 

Vulgar  habits,  206. 

W 

Wages,  exorbitant,  of  domestics, 

328.     Offering  higher,  328. 
Walking  for  exercise,  117. 
Ward's    case,  how  to    make    one 

cheaply,  100. 
Wardrobes,  in  movable  screen,  28, 

29. 

Waring  on  earth-closets,  403. 
Warm  air,  tends  to  rise,  60.     Can 

be  used  for  ventilation,  63.  Needs 

moisture,  80-83. 
Warm    drinks,    more    wholesome 

than  hot,  145.    How  to   make, 

187-189. 
Washing,  of  the  body,  156.     Of 

children,  157.     Of  infants,  269. 

Water  for,  157.    Of  dishes,  372, 

373.    See  Bathing. 
Waste  matter  from  the  skin,  154. 
Water,    on    drinking,    143,    147. 

Plunging    infants  in  cold,  270. 

See  Drinks  and  Stimulating. 
Wealthy  and  benevolent  women, 

examples  of,  252-254.    Plan  for, 

to    take    care  of  homeless    and 

vicious,  447. 
Wheat,    proportion    of    nutritious 

elements  in,  122, 123.    Unbolted, 

136,  137. 

Wicks,  364,.    Of  candles,  365. 
Window,  how  to  decorate,  96. 
Winter  air,  420. 
Women,  not  properly  trained  for 

their  work,  13.    American  esteem 

for,  201.     Influence  of,  on  individ- 
uals and  nations,  214.    Respon- 

sibility  of,  as  to  intemperance. 

149.   importance  and  difficulty  of 


500 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


their  duties,  220-222.  General 
principles  for,  223 ;  frequent  in- 
version of  them,  225.  Men  en- 
gaged in  their  work,  229.  On 
their  keeping  accounts  of  expen- 
ditures, 239.  Appeal  to  American, 
462-470.  See  American  women. 

Wood,  for  fuel,  360. 

Wooden-ware,  375. 

Work-baskets,  354,  355. 


Yellows,  the,  392. 

Young  children,  management  of, 
275-286.  Animal  food  for,  275. 
Intellectual  and  moral  training 
of,  276.  On  appreciating  their  en- 
joyments and  pursuits,  280.  Mod- 
esty and  propriety  in,  285.  Im- 
purity of  thought  in,  286. 


J.  B.  FORD  &  CO., 


No.  39  Park  Row,  New  York, 

Would  respectfully  ask  the  attention  of  the  reading  public  to 
the  books  which  they  have  published  during  the  year  1868-9, 
and  those  which  they  have  in  contemplation,  as  set  forth  in 
the  following  pages: 

They  aim  to  issue  works  of  a  high  character  and  value  as 
to  the  contents,  handsome  in  typography,  elegant  in  illustra- 
tion, workmanlike  and  complete  in  general  style  of  manufac- 
ture :  and  they  confidently  point  to  their  publications  of  the 
year,  as  evidence  of  their  success. 

Publishing  largely  for  the  subscription  trade,  they  desire 
to  direct  the  attention  of  Canvassers  and  all  interested,  either 
as  sellers  or  buyers  of  books,  to  the  issues  of  their  house, 
feeling  sure  that  their  record  is  one  of  a  more  than  ample 
fulfillment  of  promises.  They  are  desirous  of  increasing  the 
already  large  number  of  intelligent  and  reliable  Agents  now 
engaged  in  pushing  their  books,  being  prepared  to  give  con- 
stant and  lucrative  employment  to  energetic  Canvassers. 

All  applications,  or  letters  of  any  kind  asking  information, 
will  meet  with  prompt  and  courteous  response. 

Besides  the  works  already  issued  and  announced,  Messrs. 
FORD  &  Co.  have  in  active  preparation  other  new  and  valua- 
ble books,  of  great  public  interest,  which  they  are,  at  great 
expense  of  money  and  care,  getting  in  readiness  for  the  Sub- 
scription Trade.  Concerning  these,  announcement  will  be 
made  in  due  time,  and  Descriptive  Circulars  or  other  inform*- 
ion  will  always  be  gladly  sent  to  applicants. 


ANNOUNCEMENT ! 


LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

BY  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 


The  Publishers  of  this  forthcoming  work  find  it  neces- 
sary, on  account  of  the  great  and  abiding  interest  aroused  all 
over  the  land  by  their  announcement  that  the  greatest  living 
religious  teacher  was  engaged  upon  so  important  a  theme,  to 
make  some  answer  to  constant  inquiries  concerning  the  book. 

The  remarkable  activity  of  the  thinking  world,  and  the 
wide  range  of  discussion  taken  in  developing  the  philosophy 
of  Christianity,  as  involved  in  the  life  and  influence  of  Jesus, 
give  to  this  topic  a  preeminence  over  all  others  engaging  the 
mind  of  the  present  day.  The  zeal  for  effectiveness  among 
"the  common  people,"  who  heard  the  teachings  of  the  Master 
gladly — the  desire  to  arouse  and  inform  popular  thinking, 
which  has  newly  entered  into  the  spirit  of  scholarly  and  lead- 
ing minds — has  given  recent  rise  to  a  literature  upon  this 
subject,  of  unusual  extent  and  power.  Out  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  different  "Lives  of  Christ"  written  within  a 
century,  at  least  half,  and  that  by  far  the  abler  half,  have  been 
written  within  the  past  thirty  years.  Germany,  France,  Eng- 
land, all  have  their  schools  both  of  orthodoxy  and  of  scepticism. 
No  two  of  these  occupy  the  same  ground,  or  help  each  other 
in  dealing  with  the  popular  mind  of  the  different  nations,  and 
no  one  of  them  is  properly  adapted  to  touch  the  wants  of  re- 
ligious thinkers  in  America.  This  must  be  the  work  of  an 
American,  and  of  a  completely  representative  American.  Nor 
can  it  be  the  work  of  an  hour.  If  it  is  to  be  permanent,  it 
should  be  ripe. 

It  is  with  full  confidence  in  the  attainment  of  this  result 
that  the  publishers  of  the  "  LIFE  of  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST,"  to 
which  MR.  BEECHER  is  now  constantly  and  earnestly  devoting 
his  abundant  energies,  are  preparing  for  its  issuance  in  a  man- 
ner worthy  the  eager  expectancy  with  which  the  public  have 
greeted  its'  announcement,  and  the  universal,  increasing  inten- 
sity of  interest  felt  in  the  subject. 

The  work  is  to  be  issued  in  two  styles.  It  will  be  first 
published  in  a  full  octavo  volume  of  about  800  pages.  This, 
although  called  the  "Plain  Edition,"  will  be  illustrated  with 


several  valuable  engravings,  which  are  already  completed. 
First,  four  superb  Maps,  constructed  expressly  for  this  work 
from  the  very  latest  and  best  data,' including  the  English,  Dutch, 
and  French  governmental  surveys  of  Palestine,  the  present  explo- 
rations of  the  City  of  Jerusalem,  by  LIEUT.  WARREN,  Royal 
Engineers,  and  every  attainable  source  of  exact  geographical 
and  topographical  information.  These  are  engraved  on  cop- 
per and  on  stone  (printed  in  two  tints)  by  COLTON,  the  famous 
map-maker  and  publisher.  The  other  illustrations  are  a  Front- 
ispiece, "Head  of  Christ,"  restored,  painted,  and  engraved 

~    MAR 


.Title-page,  containing  a  Vignette  of  Bethlehem,  engraved  by 


R.  HINSHELWOOD,  of  the  Continental  Bank-Note  Company. 

The  other  style  will  be  in  royal  octavo  size,  richly  illus- 
trated. It  will  contain  the  Frontispiece,  Title-page,  and  Maps 
mentioned  above,  a  series  of  twenty  large  lull-page  wood- 
engravings,  and  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  smaller  cuts  printed 
in  the  text. 

The  whole  series  are  from  new  and  original  drawings 
never  before  published,  having  been  designed  expressly  for 
this  work,  after  sketches  taken  directly  from  the  places  rep- 
resented. They  are  a  new  and  full  illustration  of  localities, 
people,  and  customs  among  the  scenes  of  our  Lord's  earthly 
labors,  and,  as  artistic  productions,  are  believed  to  be  supe- 
rior to  any  thing  before  published  on  that  subject.  They  are 
engraved  by  W.  J.  LINTON,  the  celebrated  wood-engraver, 
now  resident  in  New-York,  universally  acknowledged  to  be 
the  first  master  of  his  art,  and  his  brother,  H.  D.  LINTON, 
long  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  in  Paris. 

The  Maps  were  constructed  and  the  illustrations  designed 
by  A.  L.  RAWSON,  an  artist  for  years  resident  in  the  Holy 
Land,  and  thoroughly  conversant  with  its  features.  The 
drawings  on  wood  are  from  the  artistic  pencil  of  HARRY 
FENN.  The  work  will  be  printed  at  the  University  Press, 
Cambridge,  by  WELCH,  BIGELOW  &  Co. — a  guaranty  of  its 
typographical  beauty  and  correctness. 

Concerning  the  date  of  publication,  more  particular  infor- 
mation will  be  given  through  the  newspaper  press,  in  due 
time.  To  be  sold  only  through  agents,  by  subscription. 


J.  B.  FORD  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

164  Nassau  Street,  Printing-House  Square, 

NEW-YORK. 


A    BOOK    OF    SURPASSING    INTEREST! 


The  Life's  Kecord  of  a  Self-Made  Man. 

AND  A  THRILLING  HISTORY  OF  HIS  TIMES. 


1  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  BUSY  LIFE." 


In  one  elegant  octavo  volume  of  over  600  pages,  well  printed  on  fine  paper 
and  illustrated  with  an  admirable  Portrait  on  Steel  of  Mr.  GREELEY, 
with  Pictures  of  his  various  Homes,  his  Farm,  etc.,  etc.,  together  with 
a  beautiful  Portrait  of  MARGARET  FULLER,  engraved  by  LINTON. 

STYLES     OF     BINDING. 

Extra  Cloth.  Half  Morocco. 

Half  Calf  Elegant. 


MR.  GREELEY  has  said  of  it :  "I  shall  never  write  any  thing  else  into 
which  I  shall  put  so  much  of  myself,  my  experiences,  notions,  convictions, 
and  modes  of  thought,  as  these  Recollections.  I  give,  with  small  reserve, 
my  mental  history."  The  book  embraces  views  of  early  New-England 
settlement,  the  author's  own  youthful  life,  education,  apprenticeship,  ad- 
ventures, professional  and  political  reminiscences,  experience  in  Congress, 
newspaper  life  in  New- York,  and  much  useful  talk  about  farms  and  farm- 
ing. It  is  a  peculiarly  entertaining  and  valuable  work — a  look  behind 
the  scenes  during  an  important  period  of  the  country's  history. 

OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 

REPUBLICAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC,   SECULAR  AND  RELIGIOUS. 

Independent. 

We  venture  to  predict  for  this  book  a  large  sale.  It  is  valuable  as  a 
truthful  record  of  the  career  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in 
America,  and  as  a  sketch  of  some  of  the  most  important  events  in  the 
later  history  of  the  country. 

New-York   Tribune. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  the  work  has  been  accomplished,  and  the 
points  of  interest  which  it  presents  to  the  public,  we  are  not  at  liberty 
to  speak  in  this  journal.  The  mechanical  execution  of  the  work  is 
highly  creditable  to  the  publishers.  It  is  printed  on  type  and  paper  of 
unusual  excellence,  and  the  binding  is  at  once  substantial  and  elegant. 
The  portrait  of  Mr.  Qreeley,  from  Brady's  photograph,  is  a  striking  like- 
'i tess,  and  the  other  embellishments  of  the  volume  add  both  to  its  interest 
and  value. 

Boston    Advertiser. 

His  history  of  the  "  American  Conflict "  was  begun  soon  after  the  de- 
cisive battle  of  Gettysburgh,  and  we  have  here  a  very  interesting  account 
of  the  way  in  which  that  laborious  work  was  executed  Its  sale  was 
wide  and  rapid  until  the  "bailing"  affair  occurred,  and  that  all  but 
stopped  it.  For  the  "  Recollections  "  we  predict  a  broader  and  an  endur- 
ing demand.  Its  intrinsic  excellences  and  interest  will  always  secure  for 
it  an  honorable  place  on  the  biographical  shelf. 


Packard's   Monthly. 

A  VIGOROUS  PUBLISHING-HOUSE. — Messrs.  J.  B.  Ford  &  Co.,  who  have 
recently  inaugurated  a  subscription  publishing  house  in  this  city,  give 
evidence  of  fitness  for  their  work  in  their  first  production,  which  happens 
to  be  Greeley's  "  Recollections  of  a  Busy  Life."  The  book  is  a  credit  to 
the  country,  and  should  be  an  everlasting  reproach  to  certain  publishers 
who  make  much  money  at  Hartford. 

Hartford  (Conn.)  Courant. 

Of  course,  however,  this  "busy  life,"  the  busiest  on  the  whole  that  any 
American  of  this  generation  has  lived,  is  only  sketched.  It  would  take  a 
score  of  volumes  to  relate  its  history  properly.  Let  us  be  thankful,  how- 
ever, for  what  Mr.  Greeley  has  had  time  to  give  us.  We  can  assure  those 
who  buy  this  book  that  they  will  greatly  enjoy  it. 

Washington  (D.  C.)  Evening  Star. 

Since  Franklin's  autobiography,  we  know  of  nothing  in  the  autobio- 
graphical way  of  such  fascinating  interest  as  Greeley's  frank,  straight- 
forward, racily  told  story  of  his  own  career.  We  dare  say  that  the  auto- 
biographies of  the  two  printer  statesmen — not  unlike  in  some  respects — 
will  be  read  by  our  grandchildren  with  equal  favor. 

The  Nation.    (N.  Y.) 

Perhaps  there  is  not  in  the  United  States  a  better  known  name  than 
that  of  Horace  Greeley.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  these 
"  Recollections"  of  his  busy  life  will  haw  readers  in  good  store,  and  with 
better  reason  than  many  books  multitudinously  read. 

Louisville  (Ky.)  Journal. 

To  the  student,  the  ambitious,  or  the  poor  boy,  these  letters  are  full  of 
instruction  and  hope.  They  abound  in  anecdotes,  in  humor,  and  <wise 
counsel. 

Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

All  classes  of  American  readers  will  find  material  for  grave  thought  in 
this  volume :  the  mental  Jiistory  of  one  of  the  boldest  thinkers  and  most 
forcible  writers  in  this  country. 

Evangelist.    (N.  Y.) 

No  man,  since  the  death  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  has  been  more  fami- 
liar with  the  political  history  of  the  country,  or  has  furnished  to  it  a 
more  valuable  contribution. 

San  Francisco  Bulletin. 

The  story  of  his  own  life  by  a  man  who  has  filled  so  large  a  place  in 
the  public  eye,  could  not  fail  to  be  interesting,  however  indifferently  told ; 
but  related  in  Mr.  Greeley's  strong,  sinewy  style,  it  seizes  the  attention  at 
once,  and  holds  it  fast  to  the  end. 

Providence  (R.  I.)  Journal. 

A  handsome  volume — handsome  in  every  particular  of  mechanical  ex- 
ecution. .  .  .  The  autobiography  is  full  of  interest  for  every  reader, 
and  full  of  instruction  foi  every  young  man. 

Boston    Transcript. 

The  volume  is  very  readable,  and,  as  a  plain,  frank  record  of  a  busy  and 
honorable  career,  marked  at  once  by  philanthropic  sentiment  and  practi- 
cal sagacity,  it  can  not  fail  to  be  inspiring  as  well  as  instructive. 

Sold  only  by  Subscription.    Agents  iVanttti. 
J.    B.    FORD    &    CO., 

39  Park  Bow,  New- York. 


A    VOLUME  NEEDED   BY  EVERY  FAMILY. 


THE 

American  Woman's  Home; 

OB, 

PRINCIPLES  OF  DOMESTIC  SCIENCE: 

BEINQ  A  GUIDE    TO  THE  FORMATION  AND  MAINTENANCE  OF 

ECONOMICAL,  HEALTHFUL,  BEAUTIFUL,  AND  CHRISTIAN  HOMES. 

BY 

CATHERINE    E.    BEECHER 

AND 

HARRIET    BEECHER    STOWE. 


One  large  and  very  handsome  12mo  volume  of  500  pages;  em- 
bellished profusely  with  pictures  of  Model  Homes,  "Working  Plans 
for  building ;  cuts  of  innumerable  practical  Domestic  Conveniences 
and  Interior  Decorations ;  Scientific  Illustrations  of  the  Principles  of 
Physiology,  Ventilation,  Heating,  etc.,  etc.,  besides  two  beautiful  full- 
page  plates  and  an  exquisite  engraved  Title-Page.  The  whole  bril- 
liantly printed  on  excellent  paper,  and  bound  in  elegant,  substantial, 
and  attractive  style. 

The 'Cheapest  and  Most  Desirable  Book  of  the  Year. 

STYLES    OF    BINDING.  , 

Extra  Cloth.  Library  Styles. 

Extra  Cloth,  Gilt  Edges.  Half  Morocco,  Elegant. 


The  book  is  replete  with  the  latest  and  most  authentic  results  of 
science  applicable  to  domestic  life,  made  olear  and  interesting  for  popu- 
lar reading.  It  treats  of  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  desirable 
family  abodes,  attention  being  given  to  VENTILATION,  HEATING,  FUR- 
NISHING, DECORATION,  AND  GENERAL  HOUSEKEEPING,  as  well  as  the  origi- 
nal planning  and  arrangement  of  houses,  upon  principles  adapted  to 
secure  the  most  approved  conveniences  in  the  most  economical  way. 


Many  other  topics  are  also  suggestively  treated.  Among  them  may 
be  mentioned : 

The  Care  of  Personal  Health;  Nursing  of  the  Sick;  Articles  and 
Conveniences  for  the  Sick  ;  Wholesome  Food  and  Drinks  ;  Clothing  ; 
Cleanliness;  Economy  of  Time  and  Expenses;  Management  of  Ser- 
vants and  of  Young  Children;  Health  of  Mind ;  Accidents  and  An- 
tidotes; /Sewing,  Cutting,  and  Mending;  The  Care  of  Yards  and 
Gardens ;  The  Care  of  Parlors,  Chambers,  and  other  Rooms ;  Home 
Duties  and  Amusements;  Hints  on  Good  Cooking.  In  short,  the 
whole  circle  of  Domestic  Economy  receives  thoughtful  and  useful  dis- 
cussion :  all  subjects  admitting  of  it  being  ABUNDANTLY  ILLUSTRATED. 

The  names  of  the  distinguished  authoresses  must  give  confidence  in 
the  work.  It  is  a  practical  book,  made  by  practical  house-keepers  and 
skillful  writers,  to  meet  a  practical  need.  There  is  no  house-keeper  so 
expert  but  she  may  learn  something  from  others  whose  experience  has 
been  different,  and  particularly  from  those  who  have  made  the  art  of 
house-keeping  a  scientific  study.  And  when  it  is  remembered  that 
Miss  BEECHER  and  Mrs.  STOWE  are  acknowledged  all  over  the  land  as 
authorities  in  the  science  of  domestic  economy,  and  as  writers  of  un  • 
usual  clearness  and  attractiveness  of  style ;  and  when  to  the  result  of 
their  thought  and  labors  is  added  the  beauty  of  a  thoroughly  hand- 
some and  substantial  form  of  publication,  TOE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S 
HOME  will  need  no  argument  to  establish  its  claim  to  what  we  have 
called  it — the  most  desirable  and  the  cheapest  book  of  the  year. 

ONE  HINT  FROM  THIS  WORK  MAY  BE  WORTH  MANY  TIMES  THE  PRICE 
OP  THE  BOOK. 

It  is  a  Booh  that  should  find  its  way  into  every 
Household  in  the  Land. 


SOLD  ONLY  THROUGH  AGENTS,  BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


CANVASSERS    WANTED. 


J.  B.  FORD  &   CO.,  Publishers, 

No.    39   PARK    BOW. 

TV  E  W-  YORK. 


A   NEW    AND    INTERESTING 


BY" 
MISS   CATHERINE   E.  BEECHER 

AND 

MRS.  HARRIET    BEECHER   STOWE, 

ENTITLED 

Principles  of  Domestic  Science: 

Being  THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN'S  SOME,  revised,  re-arranged, 

and  adapted,  with  much  new  matter,  for  use  in  Schools, 

Academies,  and  Colleges  for   Young    Women. 


This  is  one  of  those  rare  books,  which,  being  the  result  of 
a  keen  intuition  of  human  nature,  large  experience  in  do- 
mestic life,  a  thorough  study  of  domestic  needs  and  of  the 
readiest  mode  of  supplying  them,  fills  a  vacant  place  in  the 
literature  of  the  day. 

It  is  written  by  Catherine  E.  Beecher  and  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe,  two  sisters,  who  are  and  have  been  for  many  years 
recognized  throughout  America  and  Europe  as  authorities  in 
Domestic  Science,  as  earnest  and  sensible  friends  of  Woman, 
and  as  writers  of  unusually  effective  and  charming  style. 

The  increasing  difficulty  of  Domestic  Problems  in  Ame- 
rica, and  the  real  need  of  some  work  dealing  with  them  intel- 
ligently, lucidly,  and  authoritatively,  by  authors  of  acknow 
ledged  position,  has  been  strongly  felt  by  all  thinkers  engaged 
in  the  education  of  young  American  women. 

The  work  in  question  is  designed  to  supply  that  need. 
The  Publishers  will  be  happy  to  afford  all  information  about 
it  to  those  who  are  interested. 

Address, 

J.  B.  FORD  &  CO., 

89  Park  Row,  New-York. 


A  New  Standard  "Work  for   City  and  Country. 
THE  GREATEST  HORSE-BOOK  EVER  PUBLISHED. 


HIRAM  WOODRUFF 

ON    THB 

TROTTING-HORSE  OF  AMERICA : 

HOW  TO  TRAIN  AND  DRIVE  HIM, 

• 

WUh  Reminiscences  of  the  Trotting- Turf.    The  Results  of  the  Author's  Forty  Tears' 

Experience  and  Unequakd  Skill  in  Training  and  Driving,  together  with  a  store 

of  interesting  matter  concerning  Celebrated  American  Horses. 

Edited  by  CHABLES  J,  FOSTER,  of  "Wilkes'  Spirit  of  the  Times." 

Every  one  who  knows  any  thing  of  the  history  of  horses  In  America,  knows  that 
HIRAM  WOODRUFF  might  almost  be  said  to  have  been  the  creator  of  oar  distinctively 
national  animal,  the  Trotter.  The  value  of  this  record  of  his  experience,  and  these 
suggestions  of  his  skill,  can  not,  therefore,  be  doubted  as  a  standard  authority  in  the 
technicalities  of  horse-training ;  while  the  graphic  style  of  his  description,  and  the 
vivid  pictures  he  gives  of  successive  periods  in  the  development  of  the  breeding  and 
perfecting  of  horses  in  this  country,  and  the  many  interesting  episodes  naturally  oc- 
curring in  the  course  of  the  work,  combine,  with  its  more  solid  qualities,  to  make  it  a 
rare  book. 

Gentlemen  owning  horses,  professional  trainers  and  drivers,  farmers,  having  the 
opportunity  or  the  desire  of  breeding  good  trotting  stock,  to  supply  the  rapidly-grow- 
ing demand,  or  even  to  increase  the  speed  of  their  own  horses— every  man  who  haa, 
or  drives,  or  loves  the  noble  animal,  will  find  this  book  invaluable,  and  almost  in- 
dispensable. 

The  book  is  a  handsome  12mo,  and  contains  a  splendid  Steel-plate  Portrait  of 
Hiram  Woodruff.  Price,  extra  cloth,  $2.25 ;  half  calf,  $4 ;  full  calf,  $5.  Single  copies 
sent  on  receipt  of  price. 

J.  B.  FORD  &  CO., 

164  Nassau  St.,  Prin ting-House  Square,  New-York. 


The  New- York  Tribune  cays:  "This  is  a  Masterly  Treatise  by  the  Master  of  his 
Profession — the  ripened  product  of  forty  years'  experience  in  Handling,  Training, 
Riding,  and  Driving  the  Trotttng-Horse.  There  is  no  book  like  it  in  any  language,  on 
Ihe  subject  of  which  it  treats." 

BONNER  says  in  the  Ledger,  "It  is  a  book  for  which  every  man  who  owns  a  horse 
ought  to  subscribe.  The  information  which  it  contains  is  worth  ten  times  its  cost" 

"  One  may  read  and  study  this  book  with  profit,  for  it  was  written  by  a  man  who 
loved  the  horse,  knew  his  peculiarities,  and  from  the  experience  of  years,  utters  words 
of  wisdom  as  to  the  best  way  of  training  and  driving  the  noblest  animal  ever  given  to 
man  for  service.  The  advice,  the  suggestions,  the  rules  given  in  the  book  art  invalu- 
able."—Boston  Watchman  and  Reflector,  (Baptist.) 

f$p-  Mailed,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


HENRY  WARD  BEECHES 

Preacliing  in  Every  House 


EVERY    SUNDAY. 


PLYMOUTH  PULPIT, 

THE  ONLY  AUTHORIZED  PUBLICATION  OP 

Henry  Ward  Beecher's  Sermons 

Published  Weekly,  and  suitable  for  Binding. 


PLYMOUTH  PULPIT  is  the  only  regular  publication  of  MR.  BEECHER'S 
current  sermons — the  one  indorsed  by  his  approval  as  correct,  and  sanc- 
tioned by  his  authority ;  it  is  well  printed  on  good  paper,  in  book  form — 
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The  publishers  have  responded  to  the  constant  demand  for  a  continued 
insertion  of  the  Prayers,  as  one  of  the  most  profitable  features  of  Mr. 
Beecher's  ministrations,  and  the  Scriptural  lesson  and  hymns  sung  are 
also  indicated,  making  a  complete  record  of  one  service  for  Plymouth 
Church  for  each  Sunday. 

That  a  weekly  periodical  containing  nothing  but  sermons  and  prayers 
should  have  been  so  instantly  and  widely  accepted  by  the  public,  shows 
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MOUTH PULPIT  supplies  that  demand.  And  the  test  which  this  has 
made  of  Mr.  Beecher's  usefulness  is  no  less  remarkable.  To  be  published 
in  weekly  verbatim  reports  of  sermons  so  largely  extemporaneous,  and 
yet  to  be  always  acceptable  to  readers,  shows  a  fertility  of  resource,  an 
effective  continuity  of  thought,  and  an  enduring  power  of  sympathetic 
emotion  rarely  possessed. 


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New  Series,   1868-9, 

Embellished  with  a  new  STEEL  PORTRAIT  of  Mr.  BEECHER 

—the  best  likeness  of  him  ever  published  and  a  superb 

piece  of  engraving.   One  large  8vo  vol., 

extra  Cloth.    Price,  $2.50. 


MR.  BEECHEB'S  discourses  need  no  new  commendation.  Their  fresh- 
ness and  originality  of  method  in  presenting  the  old  familiar  truths,  their 
felicity  of  illustration,  their  aptness,  skill,  and  impressiveness,  make  them 
interesting  to  readers  of  every  class  and  denomination.  These  Sermons 
are  selected  from  those  preached  by  Mr.  Beech er  during  the  past  fall, 
winter,  and  spring,  and  are,  therefore,  especially  well  adapted  to  the 
present  requirements  of  the  community.  This  volume,  which  is  the 
first  of  a  series  to  be  issued  once  every  six  months,  contains  also  the 
Prayers  and  indication  of  the  Scripture  Lesson  and  Hymns 
sung,  appropriate  to  each  Sermon,  in  Plymouth  Church. 

THE  MINES  OF  THE  WEST, 

A  full  Statistical  Account  of  the  Mineral  Development  of  the  Pacific 
States  and  Territories,  for  the  year  1868,  with  Sixteen  Illustrations  ; 
and  a  Treatise  on  the  Relation  of  Governments  to  Mining, 
with  delineation  of  the  Legal  and  Practical  Mining  Systems  of  all 
Countries,  from  early  ages  to  the  present  time. 

By  ROSSITER  W.  RAYMOND,  Ph.D.,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Mining 
Statistics,  Svo,  extra  cloth,  $1.75. 

In  preparing  himself  for  his  task,  Mr.  Raymond  traveled  some  13,000  miles,  visit- 
Ing  and  examining  personaHy  the  mines,  conversing  with  their  managers,  and  obtain- 
ing from  them  such  information  and  assistance  as  he  needed.  His  attainments  and 
previous  experience  in  connection  with  the  Mining  Journal  well  qualified  him  for  the 
office ;  and  his  conclusions,  the  well-weighed  convictions  of  an  accute  observer  and 
practical  mineralogist,  will  carry  with  them  great  weight.— Hound  Table. 

Well  worthy  the  attention  of  the  general  public.— Philadelphia  Post. 

Mr.  Raymond's  report  has  attracted  marked  attention  by  its  clearness  of  state- 
ment, and  the  broad,  scientific  view  which  it  presents  of  the  whole  subject  of  mining, 
in  its  relation  to  legislation.— JK  T.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

Either  of  the  above  mailed,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


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o^.  i  \jixc.    LJtiKARY 
40  Giannini  Hail  -  Tel.  No.  642-4493 
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FEB1     1979 


LD62-10m-4,'72 
(Q1636S10)9412— A-32 


General  Library    . 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


